Ocean Bluest
by CloudedDreamergal
Summary: Alternate Universe. It all started with a dusty letter and picture in her grandfather's attic, and preceded to go downhill from there. Darcy Lewis discovers that she is not as human as she had believed, that her part in the universe is much bigger than she thought, iPods are not flame proof, and emotions are tasty. Crossover with "Avengers" and "The Guardians of the Galaxy".
1. Chapter 1

Darcy stared at the yellowed papers in her hand incredulously. Though the papers were aged and wrinkled the neat cursive script which appeared to be written in black ink stood out sharply as if it had been written just yesterday and not what appeared to be eons ago. The papers were so brittle, that if she even stared at them wrong they would crack a little. It wasn't the age of the paper, or the odd pulsing ink that made Darcy feel as if she had entered the twilight zone, it was the words on the letters and the picture that had been in the envelop she pulled them from.

 _August 4_ _th_ _1932_

 _To my dearest Yvette,_

 _Though news always travels slowly in this part of my personal hell, the news of your marriage has reached me. I find myself deeply saddened that you've wed another, and perturbed that, that was even possible. Is it not illegal for a woman to have two husbands? Have you forgotten that you have sworn yourself to me? That it was I who ripped away your purity?_

 _I've tasted you, the nectar of your flesh._

 _He touches you, I know._

 _But I digress; your unfaithfulness is only part of why I write you my dearest. I know you carry our child. This S.H.I.E.L.D may hold me now, but I will escape their hell, and I will kill the man you call your new husband, and I will take my child. I have no want of you, but you shall be spared for I can never bring myself to cause you physical harm._

 _Sleep well my dearest Yvette with me in your nightmares._

 _August 20_ _th_ _1938_

 _How dare you give our son that man's last name! I will bring down the world once I am free and S.H.I.E.L.D. will rule the day they took away what is mine._

 _August 12_ _th_ _1955_

 _You grow old and withered you grow sick and broken without me. Know that when you die my love the best part of me shall die with you. What can I write to make you see that you are merely their pond to be used against those like us? They call us abominations as if we are the anomaly in this world, when it is them that do not belong. They won't let me see you. They won't let me touch you so that I can extend your life, they won't let me see our son. Who is the villain here Yvette!? Who is the monster amongst man? I have done nothing but exist and they lock me away because they fear the possibilities of my powers. I've tossed my pride and I've begged to see you, I agree to assist in their experiments, and yet they still deny me!_

 _August 8_ _th_ _1971_

 _Though this will not reach you my dearest, for even I cannot go beyond the veil. I have learned the name you bestowed our son… you gave him my name even though he bares the familial name of that man… you gave him my name._

 _Darius…_

 _I will be free and I will search for the last of you, our son or his sons or daughters or their daughters and sons. It may take centuries but in my grief I find the necessary strength to go on…though I couldn't die even If I wanted to._

 _I do not know what has driven me to send this last letter…maybe it is in the hope that our son shall find it and know his true father's love for him and his mother._

 _I will be free…this I swear._

Darcy again lifted the picture she had found with the letter with trembling hands, blue eyes staring at black and white picture of what appeared to be her great grandmother dressed like she belonged in a Victorian era period piece. The woman who had to have been Yvette had long flowing dark hair and equally dark eyes, yet her face was an exact replica of Darcy's.

Darcy had always been told by her grandpa that she resembled his mother so much that she could be a reincarnation, but Darcy had always thought her gramps was doing his usual old man babble that all seniors eventually got around to doing. Darcy felt herself tearing up at the thought of her grandfather.

Darius Edgar Allan Lewis had passed away two months ago peacefully in his sleep with a smile on his face. Her grandfather had always been able to smile easily and laugh at the world while simultaneously confusing the hell out of his only granddaughter.

Darcy smiled through her tears as she remembered the confused look on her father's face as her grandfather's last will and testament was read aloud.

 _I leave all of my worldly possessions to the funniest cat in the room._

The lawyer had then promptly held out a shoebox to Darcy, and upon opening it Darcy had found the key to her grandfather's humble abode; a Victorian period house that looked as if it hadn't been lived in, in decades out in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts. As soon as the shock faded away her dad just shook his head and smiled, not really surprised that his own daughter had inherited a most likely haunted old house, a rusted bicycle and all the eccentric items of said old house from his father.

Darcy stared at the photo again wondering about all of the crazy stories her grandfather had always told her. After having seen and electrocuted a god, watched the world be invaded by aliens by said gods homicidal brother, she had to re-evaluate all of the things she had been told that she thought were just nonsense.

Like how her grandfather told her that her great-grandmother had supposedly died at the age of 486 even though records had her dying at an age of 82, and how her real great-grandfather had been imprisoned by an organization because he was considered a threat to humanity, and how both he, her father, and herself had been named in honor of the supposed threatening man.

If Darcy had never needed six units and interned for a certain Astrophysicist and had her IPod stolen by S.H.I.E.L.D, then she wouldn't be trembling and ready to believe the letters in her hands and all of the things her grandfather had told her.

Darcy's grandfather would always draw a blink when asked what the supposed wicked organization's name was that had made his mother's life miserable, but after reading the letters Darcy knew, and all she could wonder was: 'Just what in the fuck is going on?'

Shifting her weight atop of the crate she was sitting on Darcy's eyes darted to the floor as something gold and shiny fell from inside the envelope that had rested on her lap.

Standing up and carefully placing the letters and picture in her coat pocket Darcy knelt down to pick up what appeared to be a golden engraved ring. The letters on the thin band were in an odd script that Darcy couldn't decipher.

The ringed began to emit a soft blue glow causing Darcy to quickly drop it to the ground gasping.

'I left Jane and Erik because I needed to escape the completely fucked up weirdness that happened to be Jane's life, and I come home to find my own bundle of craziness.' Darcy thought breathing rapidly as she stared at her right hand that began to emit the same light as the ring.

"Oh my, freaking- mother- freaking -Norse deity!" Darcy yelled as the ring began to hover in the air coming before her. Darcy began to back away and the ring advanced on her like a shiny predator.

Darcy held up her glowing hand to the ring in a sign of 'stop', just to fall flat on her butt when the ring surged forward and onto her index finger.

A warmth filled Darcy's body, calming her slightly.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Darcy said staring at the ring with curiosity and fear dancing across her features. Her curiosity left completely when her hand began to act as if it was possess. With a will of its own Darcy's hand snapped its fingers and at the nearest stack of old yellowed writing paper flew to her landing on the floor all around her. Her crazy possessed hand hovered over a blank piece of paper and Darcy nearly pissed her dark wash skinny jeans as words began to appear.

Trying with all of her might to pull her hand away and take off the ring, Darcy eventually gave up when neither would fall to her will.

"What did I do in a past life to deserve all of this crazy shit happening to me? I just wanted to major in Political science and someday legally rule the world!" Darcy cried, watching wide eyed as familiar cursive script formed on the paper.

 _-Yvette?-_

Darcy tried to calm down so she could figure out what the hell was going on. "Who are you?" Darcy asked aloud, and was surprised to see her words appear on the paper in green ink in, hand writing that matched her own. The green words faded away while the black fancy cursive stayed.

 _-What is your name?-_

'Should I tell the crazy paper ghost my name?' "D-darcy Lewis." Darcy stumbled in pronouncing her name wondering what would happen next.

 _Lewis? Who are your parents? Who are their parents?_

The once neat cursive handwriting took on a sloppiness that seemed frenzied.

Feeling her insatiable curiosity return, Darcy edged forward and rested on her stomach. "My mother is Cathleen Wright since she remarried after divorcing my father. My dad is Darden Lewis, his father was Darius Edgar Allen Lewis and my grandmother was Ginger Lewis, my great-grandmother was Yvette Lewis and my great grandfather was-"Darcy didn't get to finish as the blue light from the ring intensified. One word formed on the paper.

 _-Me.-_

Darcy's eyes widened, she couldn't believe that she was talking to her great-grandfather.

"Does S.H.I.E.L.D really have you locked up? How are you alive? Why won't this ring come off?" Darcy asked feeling an odd excitement bubble up inside of her. She may hate being in danger but a part of her would always love adventure, and talking to a relative that should be long gone was the most adventure she had, had in months.

 _-You must sleep.-_

Frowning Darcy opened her mouth to ask why but didn't get the chance as the ring glowed red and she felt herself becoming drowsy. Darcy's head slumped down to the floor as she fell into a forced sleep.

 _Darcy could feel a large masculine hand against her cheek, causing her eyes to snap open. Standing above her prone form was a tall man who looked as if he stepped out of a Houdini's closet, the way he was dressed. His short curly salt and pepper hair stood out on his handsome aristocratic features. His ocean blue eyes stared down at her as if seeing a ghost._

 _"_ _W-who are you?" Darcy breathed out._

 _The man searched her face for something a moment longer before issuing Darcy a sad smile._

 _"_ _You look so much like her, if it weren't for your ocean eyes I would have thought you her."_

 _Darcy Gasped. "No fucking way! You can't be my great-grandfather you look like you're old enough to be my dad!" "And what's with the fancy talk?"_

 _Darius's eyes widened in surprise "Such language."_

 _Blushing in embarrassment Darcy opened her mouth to apologize to the man who was practically her ancestor._

"You are asleep. It is the only way I… that we can meet face to face. It is an honor to meet you great granddaughter." Darius said smiling genuinely, as he pulled Darcy up off of the attic floor by her right hand.

"That ring! It knocked me out." Darcy said looking at her hand and noticing the gold ring still adorned her index finger even in this supposed dream.

"That ring belonged to my beloved Yvette, it was our wedding ring." Darius said staring at Darcy fondly.

"Then why did it hop on my finger and turn my hand into its puppet?" Darcy asked eyeing Darius with a frown.

Darius didn't answer Darcy he merely pulled her to him in an embrace before kissing her on her forehead.

Darcy began to feel a weird tingling sensation in her mind. The embrace lasted for what felt like hours, before Darius pulled away. Darcy looked up at him as she heard a sound that sounded like a sob…her great grandfather was crying.

"Whoa!" Darcy watched as Darius dropped to his knees. She faltered in reaching out to comfort him, not really comfortable with the man who was semi responsible for her existence yet.

'What would gramps think if he could see me I giving his father the cold brush off?' Furrowing her brows and biting her lower lip Darcy finally decided 'what the hell' and awkwardly put a hand on Darius's trembling shoulder.

"D-dude, I mean Gramps the First-" Darcy began.

"My son has suffered the plight of mortality, first Yvette and now him!" Darius yelled standing to his feet so fast that Darcy jumped back with a yelp. His blue eyes burned with his rage, as tears made the long trek down his face.

Darcy remembered the letters, and how her great-grandfather had been locked away while his wife remarried. He never got the chance to know his son…her grandfather; the one man Darcy had loved above anyone else. Somehow Darcy knew what she was about to say could open up the floodgates of weirdo in her life, but she owed her diseased grandfather this, but first she had to find out something's.

"My grandpa…I mean your son." Darcy felt her eyes mist as the man stopped in his tracks to stare at her. The anguish and rage on his face somehow got to her and she didn't know why. "He would tell me stories about you from what he learned through his own investigations growing up. No one really believed him…Hell I didn't really believe it, but after electrocuting a Norse deity, if someone told me the Easter Bunny and Fury were having an affair I'd buy it." Darcy laughed nervously "Why exactly are you locked away by S.H.I.E.L.D? I know they can be complete IPod stealing Jerk-Offs, but the way my gramps spoke about you, you couldn't have been that bad of a guy. So what I'm trying to say is why would they lock you away? Did you try world domination or something totally overdone and crazy like that?" Darcy knew that she was on verge of blabbering, and her slowly calming down relative also noticed.

"Do you think it was a coincidence that S.H.I.E.L.D appeared so quickly that day the Asgardian landed?" Darius asked walking up to tower over Darcy as he placed a hand gently on her shoulder and stared at her seriously. "They no doubt have watched all of those of my bloodline to see if they will develop my talents so they can cage you away."

"W-what?" Darcy asked confused.

"In your dreams I can look into your mind. I have seen all of the events leading up to you placing my ring on your finger." Darius gave Darcy a soft smile. "It is fortunate that your abilities have remained dormant for so long. S.H.I.E.L.D has eyes and ears everywhere my dear one."

Holding up her hands and stepping backwards Darcy stared at her great grandfather as if he had grown an extra head. "What abilities? I know I pack a mean Taser trigger hand, and my coffee fetching skills can't be beat, and I might have been the best data entry intern this side of the universe. Obviously S.H.I.E.L.D can't have a nefarious plot to lock away all decent assistants on Earth right? And Hey! No peeping into my thoughts!" Darcy finished; her unease mangling with irritation.

"Are you familiar with magic?" Darius asked arching an eyebrow at his granddaughter's ever shifting moods. Holding up a white gloved hand Darius snapped his fingers causing a fireball to appear in the palm of his hands.

Darcy stared at the fire ball in awe and walked closer to inspect it. "This is just a dream right? You can't actually perform this in real life… and speaking of life, how are you still alive?" Darcy reached out a finger to touch the ball of fire and her eyes widened as she felt the shimmering heat, but it didn't burn it just tingled.

"I once could do this and more; however S.H.I.E.L.D has advanced with time and somehow they have placed limitations on my abilities." Darius made the ball of fire vanish. "I am kept contained because they fear me." Darius spoke just above the whisper as if there was someone else there. Darcy leaned forward towards him so she wouldn't miss a word. Even if her great-grandfather was a little weird didn't mean that what he had done so far wasn't cool. "They have monsters, an Asgardian, and a man of Iron and yet they keep me contained. I have never attempted to burn down an entire city killing innocent women and children."

"Which brings back the question dude: What did you do? Since I doubt they locked you up for the ability to form a fireball in your hand." Darcy asked pulling back and crossing her arms in front of her chest eyeing the man across from her curiously.

"It is believed that I along with those like myself have been responsible for the existence of mutations in humanity."

"You mean like being born with an extra arm?" Darcy asked confused.

"No, I believe they are called mutants and they have been hunted and feared as long as they have been in existence."

Darcy's eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Like Mystique or that guy with the crazy hair, Wolverine?" "They haven't been in the news lately."

"If they possess abilities far beyond that of the average human, than yes. Many of my kind have come here when humans were in the mere infancy of their existence as a species. Our features abilities have allowed us to blend in well with the populace and as a result, mixed breeding occurred. When one of my kind bonds with a human it is inevitable that parts of what we are will show up in later generations. I came here to watch and study humans. I didn't believe that I would fall to the charm of them and bond with anyone until I met Yvette." Darius gave Darcy a somber look. "I cannot age here, I cannot die here and I can share those abilities with anyone I so choose, at a grave cost to that person's lineage and their humanity. Those like me live in absolute secrecy amongst your kind. Until we grew bored with this world and took our leave. I remained sharing parts of myself with a select few, lurking in the shadows."

Darcy couldn't hold it in anymore, her lips trembled and she let out a laugh so powerful that it had her doubling over and clutching her stomach. "T-that is so fucking unbelievable!" Darcy said between fits of laughter. She had really believed that what was happening was real, but after her dream relatives little speech Darcy knew that the whole ring business and all of this had to be a dream, she must have fallen asleep rifling through all of the boxes in the attic of her inherited house.

After what felt like minutes Darcy calmed down enough to whip her watering eyes on the sleeve of her green hoodie. "Well I guess it's time for me to wake up now, this dream has been fun though." Darcy began making her way around the room that was an exact replica of the attic she had fallen asleep in.

"Shield must not find what my son left behind in that house, the ring kept my old home invisible to those outside of my bloodline. S.H.I.E.L.D looks for you. Will you perform a task for me my child?"

Darcy turned around to give the weird dream guy a lopsided grin. "Sure what would you like me to do?" Darcy asked, jokingly curtsying. Hey she was dreaming, she could agree to a task from a dream relative.

"Through your own freewill allow me usage of your vessel so that I may free myself from this cage and repay S.H.I.E.L.D for their hospitality."

Shrugging her shoulders and ignoring the dark glint in Darius the first eyes, Darcy quickly said "Why not? I am now your humble vessel good sir."

"No harm shall ever befall you or your father as it has befallen my son and wife." Darius closed the distance between himself and Darcy as he grabbed both of her hands, and stared down at her kindly. "Forgive me."

Before Darcy could jokingly ask what? Sharp pains engulfed her body.

Darcy awoke with a jolt to the sound of distant voices. Groaning Darcy sat up on the floor covered with old yellowed blank stationary.

'That was one hell of a dream.' Darcy thought glancing down to her right hand only to pause in wide-eyed fright at the sight of the gold ring that rested on her index finger. She tried to pull it off but it wouldn't come off. 'Why won't it come off!?'

"Sir this is where the tracking device lost track of Miss Lewis."

Darcy shot up to her feet and ran to the attic window that overlooked the wilderness that she now called her front yard. Agents in men-in-black suits littered the area talking on walkie-talkies. Some even had dogs on leashed sniffing through the brown and golden leaves on the ground. What freaked Darcy out even more was how well she could hear, they sounded like they could have been standing right next to her.

Running back to where she had been sitting before falling to the floor Darcy threw dusty boxes aside until she found her phone. Serious weird shit was happening and when serious weird shit happened Darcy called the one person who had experience with serious weird shit.

"Come on Jane please pick up! Please, please, please." Darcy chanted.

"Darcy?" Jane's voice asked sounding surprised. It was probably because Darcy hadn't talk to Jane in months.

"Oh my god Jane! Something's wrong! It wasn't a dream, it was real. He was real and…" Darcy trailed off as her eyes went even wider. "I told him he could use me! And S.H.I.E.L.D they want to capture me and lock me in a cell! Oh my god!" Darcy started to hyper ventilate, she could make out the voice of a concerned Thor in the background as Jane told him "Its Darcy…I think something's wrong."

"Calm down, what happened? Are you hurt? Where are you? Who wants to use you and what does S.H.I.E.L.D have to do with this?" Jane asked sounding worried.

"They think I'm a freak and they're going to put me in a cage but I'm not a freak yet! Please Jane you've got to help me!"

Darcy began to sob hysterically, as she paced around the attic.

Thor must have taken the phone from his girlfriend because his words of concern were no longer in the background. "Lady Darcy, have you been harmed?"

"Yes! I think I'll be scared for life. Why can't my life just be normal?" Darcy jumped at the sound of a helicopter above the house. The sound grew louder and closer and Darcy found herself letting out a blood curdling scream and dropped the phone as the Helicopter phased through the roof as if it was a sci-fi special hologram. When the helicopter continued to lower Darcy thought she would die. She watched in stunned horror as the helicopter kept lowering until…it went through her propellers and all. Nothing in the attic was affected it was as if the helicopter had just phased through her and the house. Darcy's legs began to tremble until they gave out and she crashed to the floor landing on her knees. Her eyes were wide and unseeing as the golden ring on her finger began to emit a blue glow that covered her body, causing her to vanish from the attic, and the house to become visible and solid, crushing the helicopter and exploding in flames shocking all of the roaming agents.

Darcy was surrounded by a swirl of colors and the colors began to fade to take on the shape of what appeared to be a room, and Darcy was falling into the room onto a familiar worn wooden desk covered with odd instruments that a certain Astrophysicist was known to use.

"Oh shit!" Darcy screamed as she crashed into the desk breaking it in half and scattering all of the instruments atop of it around the room in broken pieces. She laid face down in the mess screaming until it hurt, even though oddly enough her landing didn't hurt at all.

Heavy footsteps rushed into the room followed by softer ones.

"Lady Darcy!"

"Darcy? Oh my god!"

Darcy's throat felt raw as her screams died out. She sat up and stood on shaky legs, holding up a hand to stop Thor as he came forward to help her. Once she got to her feet she looked from Thor and Jane and said as calmly as possible "I think my great grandfather is an alien, Please don't let S.H.I.E.L.D find me" before promptly fainting.


	2. Chapter 2

Darcy dreamed of Darius again. He was sitting on a metal cot in a dark room. She could see him as if he glowed in the darkness.

"Your dormant abilities are awakening, and soon you will be ready to free me." Darius said standing from the cot to approach a confused and frightened Darcy who backed away from him.

"As we speak you are with the ones who you seem to trust, it appears that the Asgardian has taken you to his father to seek guidance on what might ail you. When you are ready you will come for me, Asgard shall not hold you."

Darcy felt her fear and confusion morph into anger. "I don't care if you are my great grandfather where do you get off doing this to me? What have you done? What am I!? Darcy yelled as her body became engulfed in flames and she didn't feel any pain."

"Impossible." Darius said sounding surprised while watching Darcy as if he had come to some profound realization.

Everything began to blur and Darcy knew that she was waking up from the dream or whatever the hell it was.

Slowly opening her eyes Darcy gasped as she realized she was covered in flames.

"She has awakened!" A male voice yelled frantically as heavy footsteps ran away from her location. Where exactly was she anyway?

Darcy sat up and stared at her body, and the flames that covered her, she had been laying on a mattress with what appeared to be sheets that seemed a cross between leather and snake skin. She was in what appeared to be some type of observation room. Above where she stood was a single floating platform and a bridge that lead to a golden door. The room was white and empty save for the bed she sat on. Her feet touched the cold stone flooring and Darcy discovered she was barefoot and naked. The flames must have burned off her clothes. Running quickly to the bed Darcy grabbed the odd sheet that didn't seem affected by her and wrapped it around her naked self.

"Wait to dad finds out his daughter is a mutant." Darcy muttered weakly, trying to accept the fact that she was the female equivalent of the human torch. If she wasn't so fucking terrified she would find her new ability pretty awesome.

"Lady Darcy!" Thor's voice boomed from above.

Darcy looked up at the floating platform at Thor in all of his hot Asgardian glory. What a lucky woman Jane was.

"Hey, big guy…so… I'm covered in flames and imprisoned and if what my dear great gramps said is true… this is Asgard. I think I'm a mutant so I can pretty much can go home now. Mutants aren't a big deal on earth, though they or should I say we, have groups dedicated to whipping us out of existence, but hey I'll survive, if I can get the whole torch thing to go away. Do you think I could get a job as a light bulb alternative, or roasting marshmallows for campers? That might be a bad Idea I'd burn down a national park just by setting foot in it. Why go home yet? Maybe I'll get the grand tour." Darcy babbled uncontrollably.

Darcy jumped in shock as Thor jumped from the platform and landed with a loud thump on his feet causing the room to shake a little.

Thor reflexively reached out a hand in an effort to comfort her, and Darcy jumped back.

"Don't touch me." Darcy watched as Thor realized his mistake and brought his large hand back to his side.

"Forgive me Lady Darcy I seem to forget your current state, for I still see you and not the flames." Thor said apologetically.

Darcy raised an eyebrow. "The flames are kind of hard to miss."

Thor chuckled before his face took on a rarely seen look of seriousness, and Darcy felt like a patient about to receive horrible news. "That they are." Thor said solemn.

"What is it?" Darcy asked.

"You are not what Midgardian's call a mutant, Lady Darcy. What you are is of ancient Elfin fables thought to be mere imaginary tales told to children. None believed your kind to be real, but you are proof enough since you bare the signs. There is one in all of Asgard that possesses the knowledge to discern if you are what we believe. For he has seen the realms beyond Yggdrasil's branches and leaves."

"This doesn't make any sense! How can I go from being normal, average Darcy Lewis to this?" Darcy exclaimed raising her arms in exasperation and dropping the sheet. Thor stared at her in fascination and with a blush covering his face, causing Darcy to follow his line of sight to her ample bosoms. Darcy hurriedly covered herself again.

"Hey eyes up here." Darcy said internally smirking, 'at least I can one up Jane in something'. "So when is this seer of all things coming?" Darcy asked smiling as Thor glanced one last time at her now covered chest wistfully, before looking at her face.

"It is not of Heimdall I speak. My brother is not a seer he merely has knowledge gained from his usage of the Tesserect. Loki is also familiar with magic, and since your people are fabled to be beings of magic it is only fitting that we seek his audience." Thor watched Darcy closely as if waiting for the protests to begin. People rarely wished to freely be in Loki's presence unless it was to torture or ridicule him.

"My day just keeps on getting better." Darcy said sarcastically as she shot Thor a glare. "You honestly expect me to go to your homicidal brother to be examined without my Taser?"

Thor's eyebrows rose up in surprise. "You are concerned about physical protection?" That was surprising indeed. Thor could not believe that Darcy's only concern was her physical safety. It was a well-known fact that Loki did not need to harm one with physical violence, he could do it with words along. Loki's abilities of manipulation, has already driven numerous guards assigned to him to madness.

Darcy looked down at herself. "Well I am covered in flames I guess I can always barbeque his crazy maniacal ass." "Why do I have to go to him anyway? Aren't you worried about me burning the place down?" Darcy asked confused at Thor's grin.

"Do you truly not fear my brother?" Thor asked curiously.

Darcy laughed nervously. "Right now, I'm freaked about what's happening to me more than anything. I've seen pictures of your brother and his glowing stick of doom. The aliens did most of his dirty work for him." Darcy said with false bravado. Thor stared at her for a second longer before approaching her.

"I wish to wrap you in that Dragon's skin so I can carry through the castle safely." Thor explained as Darcy backed away from him.

"Dragon skin?" Darcy looked at the cover she was wrapped in, in wonder.

"That type of Dragon's skin is immune to flames and temperatures that even an Aesir could not stand."

"Oh." Darcy said, letting Thor approach her. She watched as he winced when a flame covered strand of her hair touch his cheek. "I'm sorry." Darcy said ducking her head beneath the cover and insuring that all of her body was covered as Thor carried her.

"It is nothing Lady Darcy, you need not apologize. You cannot help what you are." Thor said somberly, as if he had said the words before and they held a deeper meaning than Darcy would ever know.

Darcy felt her eyes begin to water. Who knew that Thor could be so…un-Thor like. Darcy never saw Thor as being the caring or insightful type. Apparently Mr. Muscle and Brawn was just as layered as everybody else. Before she knew it her watering eyes began to pour and she sobbed. Darcy sobbed for the death of her slightly normal life, for not having her grandfather alive to vent to, for discovering her great-grandfather, and when Thor began to rock the bundle she was in to comfort her, she sobbed in envy of how fucking lucky Jane was to have someone like him.

"What is this? The All-father has altered tactics in his efforts to reform me?"

Darcy's sobs quieted at the sound of the satiny dark humored voice.

"You bring a sobbing motherless and fatherless Migardian child to my prison, in an effort to make me feel remorse?" Loki laughed.

"Brother!" Thor growled in warning, Jarring Darcy in his arms.

Darcy recalled the number of children that became orphaned after the attack in New York, the numbers were staggering, and here was the son of a bitch responsible for it laughing. Darcy felt her blood boil.

"I am not your brother! I would sooner slit your throat than call you brother. Leave me!"

"Enough!" Darcy yelled through her dragon covering, struggling to break free. "Listen here you sorry excuse for a whining bastard! How dare you say that to your own brother?" Darcy yelled, causing both of the gods to go silent. "Thor put me down so I can give this jerk a piece of my mind!"

When Darcy felt her feet land firmly on the ground she fell and rolled around on the ground in her cocoon of dragon covering until she managed to get her feet free.

"Lady Darcy." Thor said in worry and mild amusement, as Darcy let out a long stream of profanities against his brother who was watching the struggling mass on the floor with a look of rage.

"How dare you address me-" Loki began, just to falter.

Darcy jumped out of her makeshift cocoon triumphantly, and marched right up to the glass prison that held the universe's biggest prick.

"I am going to Kentucky style roast your ass! Do you know how many children have been orphaned because of your big boy fucking tantrum? And how dare you say that to your brother!" Darcy yelled. The flames covering Darcy seemed to rise with her anger. So angry was she that she managed to walk right through the magic enhanced glass keeping Loki prisoner and right into his cell naked.

Loki stared at her wide-eyed as he backed away from her. "What glorious illusion is this?" Loki whispered awestruck.

"Lady Darcy you must calm down at once! You are bare." Thor bellowed from outside of the prison, growling at the sound of prisoners in their cells making obscene comments about Darcy's state of undress.

Darcy looked down at herself and behind her to see she had left her Dragon covering on the floor outside of the cell, and she stood naked before the god of lies and mischief, and random prisoners across the hall. Darcy's anger instantly deflated to be replaced with embarrassment as she used her hands to shield her breast and her lower region. She quickly turned around to try to go through the glass again just to find that she couldn't. She felt herself getting tired. Her shoulders slouched as she stared at a blushing Thor with confused eyes.

"W-what's happening?"

"It is the ancient magic that is used to contain my brother in his imprisonment. The magic weakens him so he cannot escape. I fear that it does the same to you Lady Darcy. The Allfather is the only one who can unlock Loki's cell." Thor said seemingly conflicted.

"But I came in shouldn't I be able to get out? Can you at least throw me the dragon thingie?" Darcy asked pleadingly.

Thor looked away seeming embarrassed. "No one can merely walk through those bars. You broke through the magic barrier somehow. I must consult father, but I fear leaving you along in my brother's presence after you have berated him so." Thor said worried.

Darcy turned her back to Thor having forgotten about his homicidal sibling. Loki stood transfixed, staring at her as if he was eyeing something breathtaking and wondrous and yet a look of fear also rested alongside his emotions of wonder.

"Thor why is your nut job brother eyeing me like I'm a tall glass of water and he's been stranded in the desert for days?" Darcy asked weary as she looked around the cell for an escape. She wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Here she was naked before two gods who were probably use to seeing the hot perfect bodies of Asgardian babes.

"I imagine that my brother finds you fascinating. Your people are the essence of magic, and he considers himself a sorcerer of sorts…and you are momentarily unclothed." Thor explained.

As if to prove Thor's point Loki muttered "Fascinating."

"This isn't a museum and I'm not on display, so stop gawking you pervert!" Darcy yelled at Loki snapping him out of his trance.

"I do not gawk." Loki whispered unable to look away.

Darcy turned and gave Loki her backside to address Thor. "Hurry up and get the every father so he can get me out of here."

"Allfather." Both Loki and Thor corrected automatically.

"I do not think it wise to leave you unattended Lady Darcy." Thor said.

"You have no right speaking of things which you know nothing about. Wisdom has never allied itself with you." Loki sneered at Thor while still creepily staring at Darcy.

Darcy felt the fire covered hairs on the back of her neck stand up when Loki addressed her.

"My lady what brings you to this realm? You are far from home." Loki asked politely.

Darcy turned her head to look at him so fast that she swore she almost gave herself whiplash. "Bipolar much?" Darcy asked raising an eyebrow. . Darcy noticed that the God of Mischief's posture seemed rigid and nervous, as if he wanted to do something but he mentally kept talking himself out of it.

"Lady Darcy and I came seeking your assistance brother. She is of Midgard." Thor said.

"Hey dude, do you think it's a good idea to tell your human hating brother that he has a human in his crazy psycho midst?" Darcy asked in disbelief turning around to face Loki completely while covering her lady parts with her hands and arms.

"You believe yourself to be human?" Loki asked in disbelief.

Darcy found herself blushing as Thor's oddly attractive brother looked her up and down as if studying her.

"I was born and raised on Earth, I'm human." Darcy said adamantly as if wanting to convince herself.

"Your name, Darcy is it not?" Loki asked closing the distance between himself and Darcy slowly.

"Loki." Thor called out in warning.

"I will not harm this one, for her life's value far outweighs yours Odinson." Loki carefully held out a hand in front of himself with his palm facing up, as his dark brows furrowed in concentration. Darcy watched the God of mischief wearily, suddenly he grinned and Darcy watched as a flame shot from her and landed in his outstretched palm. Darcy leapt forward to grab the flame back feeling as if it was a part of her. Loki grabbed her hand, and Darcy watched stunned as his pale skin did not burn. Darcy's heart raced as Loki brought her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on top of her hand, ducking his head in a bow, he looked up at her with relief and something darker than fascination dancing in his eyes.

"Y-you can touch me." Darcy whispered in awe.

Loki stood to his full impressive height. "Magic dances in your blood, in your cells and I am a manipulator of magic." Loki answered smiling.

There was something unnerving about his smile, it seemed innocent enough if one focused on his upturned lips alone, but the truth rested in his eyes. Loki looked like a starved man who had just come across a buffet, and Darcy felt unnerved that she was the buffet. His eyes left her face to flicker at her uncovered breast in appreciation.

"I am a manipulator of many things" Loki said cryptically.

"Um, Thor your brother has crazy eyes." Darcy said laughing nervously as she pulled her hand away from Loki and covered her breasts.

"Gaze upon your reflection, and know that it is I who reveals your truth." Loki said manipulating the flame until it became a reflective obsidian slab.

"Brother? How can you perform magic?" Thor asked alarmed.

"See how he insists that I am his brother when I constantly tell him otherwise. He is a fool." Loki said casually as he held the slab for Darcy to look at herself in.

Darcy gasped at her reflection. She looked like herself just covered in flames. Her blue eyes seemed to be brighter as if they were glowing, but the thing that made her gasp was the flame crown a top her head. There was an honest to goodness pointy royalty crown made of flames resting atop of her flame covered hair.

"The stories have proved true." Loki spoke reverently.

"Everyone keeps talking about these stories but I haven't heard one yet." Darcy said annoyed.

"Then I shall tell you them all." Loki said.

Darcy carefully studied the trickster. His shoulder length wavy hair seemed to be blacker than any charcoal, making the paleness of his skin harsher. His green eyes that had been dull when she first laid eyes on him now danced with life. His black prisoner clothes seemed to be made out of a nicer material than anything Darcy owned. Darcy found herself wondering if his silken black shirt and pants was the Asgardian equivalent of pajamas. Looking further down, Darcy noted that he was barefoot before looking back up to his green eyes. He wasn't ruggedly handsome like Thor…no…no he was beautiful, like a work of sophisticated art, that only a select few could appreciate.

They stared at each other for a long time, forgetting about the silent contemplative Thor.

"Can you tell me how to go back to normal?" Darcy asked quietly looking down to break eye contact with Loki.

"Why do you crave normalcy when you are something so much better?" The God of Lies asked placing his palm against Darcy's cheek. He seemed just as surprised as Darcy that he could touch her.

"What am I?" Darcy asked, looking up at Loki from under her long lashes.

Loki brought his face close to hers. Darcy trembled and closed her eyes thinking he would kiss her. His cold lips trailed across her cheek until they rested by her ear.

"Power." Loki spoke the word seductively, causing moisture to pool between Darcy's thighs. She felt even more embarrassed, if that was possible.

'I am such a horn dog.' Darcy thought ashamed.

"Brother cease your games." Thor ordered.

Darcy's eyes opened and she backed away, putting as much room between Loki's body and hers as possible.

'I am not a one-night-stand-two- bit whore. I will not be attracted to this nut job.' Darcy repeated in her mind pressing her thighs tightly together.

"T-thor, I think I'm ready to go, so you should go get the key. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Darcy knew that she was telling a bold face lie. She would not be fine. Loki was doing something to her and between the heady concoction of confusion and fear was lust.

"Are you sure Lady Darcy? I can-" Thor began before Loki interrupted him.

"Leave us." Loki ordered sending a hateful glare in Thor's direction.

"My, aren't you bossy?" Darcy said frowning at Loki.

Staring between his brother and Lady Darcy one last time, Thor rushed from the room in search of the Allfather.

"If you are uncomfortable in my presence, demand that covering come to you." Loki said gesturing with a hand to Darcy's failed attempts to maintain some modesty with her hands and then to her discarded dragon blanket on the ground outside of the cell. "I will not take what you do not offer."

Darcy felt her cheeks heat up. Part of her was willing to do anything to cover herself up in the presence of freaking shamefully hot gods, but something about the layer of haughtiness and superiority that seemed to ooze from Loki even when he was acting polite, (she guessed this was him acting polite, he wasn't trying to kill her yet) made Darcy want to hold her head high and show him that she didn't feel ashamed of any aspect of herself.

'What do I have to hide anyway? Thor and his manic brother had already seen all of my goodies.' Darcy thought as she tried to stoke the fires of her fake bravado. 'I'm wearing a freaking awesome crown of fire damnit. I am a bad ass bitch!' Darcy tried mentally cheering herself on but became even more self-conscious as the seconds ticked by.

Looking at the dragon covering Darcy held a hand out to it and instinctually pictured the covering her to save any remaining modesty she may have had left. The dragon hide obeyed and flew through the glass and into her outstretched hand.

Grinning triumphantly, Darcy wrapped the covering around herself. "Now, that I've covered the awesomeness that is me naked. How about these stories? When do you plan on telling them?" Darcy asked casually.

Loki smirked before sitting down on the single metal cot in his cell.

Darcy looked around for a place to sit in the barren stone floor cell, but came up empty.

"This story was not meant to be told in any Midgardian tongue. I will adapt it as best I can." Loki said furrowing his brows in concentration before smiling softly.

"Yggdrasil, Yggdrasil… branches ever descending and ever ascending bright, leaves of heaven bark delight. Mother! Father! Speak your children a tale tonight, of the space… of the place outside of Yggdrasil's might. Beyond… the Allfather's sight! Speak to them of Dresleim and the curious, mischievous, brilliant beings of shifting fiery light…"

As Loki retold the story Darcy could not help but note how it sounded like he was singing, and his voice was as hypnotic and mesmerizing as his eyes that studied her with fascination in their depths.

"…Or tell of Dresleim's Crown! Of how their royals stray from home, leaving queens born outside the throne! They are ruled by women, thus no men dare stay for long. Nay, nay surely you speak these words to the youth of Asgard who dream of great battles and bloodied swords or perhaps it is a little sorceress of magic arts. If the latter be the case all tales you must replace and impart on her the tale of Daëřce."

Darcy looked down at the stone floor and the char marks her fire covered flesh was causing and shrugged her shoulders before sitting down with her legs beneath her. She noticed that Loki momentarily paused in his story to lick his lips as his gaze followed her movement.

"O-on a world far from home went a princess unknown to the throne, clothed in flames and eyes of ocean blue-"

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're just describing me." Darcy said interrupting Loki's story.

"This is how the story was told to me as a child, I can assure you that I have changed nothing but the language it was meant to be told in, seeing that you might not understand the Ancient Elfin language." Loki said before swallowing and continuing.

Darcy was willing to bet her Taser that the God of Mischief had just blushed as he diverted his eyes away from her.

"On her head rested a crown, of her royal blood all but herself knew, for she lived in denial casting her in another hue. She would call herself silver... when it was clear as day she was red. She denied herself a princess, and centuries flourished by until all believed what she believed and she was cast aside. In her lonely wandering she came across a boy, cast out by all who knew him, foreign to any form of joy. The boy held from a place of warriors and kings, yet he was seen unfit... refusing to suffer any longer he put down his sword and quit. The princess approached the boy and sat beside him, and as if hit by lightening the boy felt his body swell with a strange stirring. He held out his hand and a flame came from the Princess's body and in his palm it spun and danced. The boy manipulated the flame until a slab of obsidian was formed he held the reflective surface to the princess and her eyes became a light at the sight of the crown she adorned. She believed herself to be a princess at last as memories of a lifetime ago poured forth. Forever! Forever she exclaimed she would be in the boy's debt. She formed a cave of flowers and pulled the boy inside, she taught him of magic and magic's might and trickery and illusions. She cast her flame inside his heart, and dissolved the cave and left the boy a sorcerer in a land of mighty swords. The boy returned to his home, defeating all of his king's enemies, and after he was done the King cast him out again, not wanting him to upstage his sons…" Loki trailed off, giving a self-deprecating chuckle.

"I often wonder at the prophetic properties of Elfin tales" Loki said before continuing. "The boy arrived where the cave had been and fell into the grass. Suns came and moons went, and the boy did not move, and in that spot he grew into a man starved for the embrace of Hel's cold hands. Just when the boy had formed a blade to end his life, above his head as if a shooting star descending from the skies the Princess arrived. The Princess cradled his head and wrapped him in her flames. The man once a boy told her of his failures, and the Princess graced him with a smile. Greatness shall be yours she vowed, and the Princess wrapped the man in an embrace and asked him what would he take from her now? The man in his thirst and starvation took her all, and the kingdom denied to him fell and bowed to him, his power unparalleled in any realm. The man now king ruled eternally, unwedded, without heirs because the need was never there." Loki finished, bringing his serious gaze back to Darcy to gauge her reaction.

"Well that wasn't exactly a Disney classic, but how in the hell does that explain what's happening to me?" Darcy asked confused. Loki stared at her in disbelief.

"You honestly do not see it? Are you incapable of seeing the similarities between yourself and

Daëřce?"

Now it was Darcy's turn to give Loki a look of disbelief. "Is that why you stole my flame and made that mirror? You read it in a story and thought it would be cool to try? You think I'm this princess don't you?" Darcy stood up wanting to put as much distance between her and Thor's obviously mentally ill brother. "I haven't been around for centuries. I'm twenty three. My father isn't a king; he's an accountant at a bank. There isn't a royal bone in his body. Though I can't say the same for my mom she's always viewed herself as queen of everyone's castle." Darcy said nervously watching Loki stand and approach her.

"It is common knowledge that some Elfin stories have actually occurred or will occur eventually. It is not a mistake that you are here in my presence after I have been defeated, and that you respond to me so well." Loki waved a hand and a wave of flame flew from Darcy's body to wrap around Loki's right hand and arm. Darcy watched as the God of Lies somehow made her flames into butterflies resting on his arm.

"You are the key to the acquirement of my rightful place on the throne of any realm I choose to rule." Loki shook his arm and the butterflies resting there came alive and fluttered around the room. "They do not know what they have gifted me by bringing you here."

"In your story the man ate the princess. Are you seriously planning on eating me?" Darcy asked panicked with her eyes wide. "Thor!" Darcy yelled pressing her back against the bars. "For the record you wouldn't like how I taste I pretty much live off of coffee and Poptarts. I'm pure grade 'F' human."

The God of Mischief laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke of the century. "Eat you?" Loki asked smiling and cocking his head to the side to stare at Darcy in that unnerving manner of his. "She shared herself with him. The king did not have a need to marry nor have heirs because he was complete from his bond with the Princess. They became one; after he spent a night between her lush and soft thighs she had eyes for no other…he had eyes for no other." Loki said smirking at Darcy's blush. "I suppose I would not be averse to eating you." Loki said mischievously glancing at where the juncture between Darcy's thighs would be beneath the covering.

Darcy felt her knees get weak at Loki's suggestive words. Her eyes went to his mouth as his pink tongue darted out to wet his lips.

"Mmhm" Darcy moaned, mentally picturing the things he could do to her with that tongue of his.

"You will find that no other man will be able to touch you unless they can manipulate energies as well as I can." Staring at her with want and a foreign emotion Loki advanced, pressing his front to Darcy's front, shivering in pleasure at the feel of her lush breast pressed against him. Darcy's eyes widened when she felt Loki's obvious erection against her.

"I want out." Darcy said panting. Darcy knew if she stayed in the psychotic bastard's cell any longer she'd let him take her right on the blackened stone floor. Just as she was about to give in Darcy felt herself falling backwards and through the bars.

"What the hell!" Darcy yelped as she fell onto her backside onto the outside of the cell. She looked up to see the enraged eyes of the God of Mischief as he growled…shit…he actually growled in frustration.

Quickly crawling to her dragon covering that had managed to fall off of her, Darcy wrapped it around her and stood on shaky legs before turning towards the exit, faltering only when Loki spoke.

"You will give me what I desire of you Darcy Lewis of Midgard. This prison cannot hold me. I promise you that the longer you deny me the worst it will be for you and those you hold dear. I will not lose in this endeavor." Loki said silkily.

Darcy spun to face the ass that dared to threaten her. "Listen here you psychotic asshole! I don't care who you are or what you can do. I will cut your balls off and stuff them down your throat if I catch you anywhere near Earth again, and if you even dare to harm a hair on Thor's head not only will you have Jane to answer to, you'll have me. So back the fuck off." Darcy sent Loki a glare that would have made even Nick Fury piss his pants.

Loki merely sneered. "Why do you show any favor towards Thor? Is not this Jane you threaten me with his paramour?"

"Para-what now Shakespeare?" Darcy asked, her anger giving way to confusion as she tried to use her mental Asgardian to Midgardian dictionary.

"I believe the word you are searching for is lover." Loki explained annoyed.

Rolling her eyes Darcy put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, Jane got him first. I couldn't compete with the perfection that is our favorite Astrophysicist anyway." Darcy shrugged her shoulders with a 'what can you do about these things' look on her face. "Though he did fall hard for me when we first met, I think incapacitating him might have rubbed him the wrong way. He's still my favorite hobo though, so yeah no hurting him!" Darcy pointed a finger at Loki and shot him a bad dog look.

"If this Jane was not around would you pursue my-I mean Thor?" Loki asked curiously.

Darcy studied the caged lunatic. He was clenching his fist in either rage or nervousness…and his green eyes held a dark look, even though he refused to meet her eyes as he awaited her answer. The light and curious tone he used to ask her the question conflicted with what she was seeing. He seemed on edge, on the precipice to further madness, but Darcy couldn't figure out why. So what if she still had a slight crush on her boss's boyfriend? This wasn't examining Darcy's lack of a love life hour.

"I'm the sidekick to the sidekick. The hero never notices me. E-even" Darcy licked her lips "Even if I wouldn't mind being a dainty damsel once in a while. Darcy chuckled darkly. "I'm a human torch so finding Mr. Right won't be on the menu for a very long time." Darcy turned away and rushed from the room, ignoring the sound of rage and shouts of the caged mad man.

"If this Jane was not around would you pursue my-I mean Thor?" Loki knew that he was anything but merely curious as he asked his question. His entire being anticipated her answer, and he felt himself waiting on baited breath on the precipice of something based on what answer he received. From the moment he laid eyes on the flame wrapped woman across from him, he knew that fate had brought them together, that she would be the key to his success. He had read the story of Daëřce repeatedly growing up, finding a connection between himself and the boy of the story. As a child he had spent nights gazing up at the sky, naïvely waiting for a princess to fall and strengthen the magic he already possessed. He had long since given up such hope and foolishness. After seeing what he believed to be the princess from a favored tale come to life in front of him, while he experiences his lowest low; Loki found all of his childhood belief and enthusiasm flooding him. He wanted… he needed someone to have eyes for him only, to see past the grandeur that is Thor.

Loki stilled as Darcy began to speak.

"I'm the sidekick to the sidekick. The hero never notices me. E-even" He glanced up and watched as she licked her full lips. "Even if I wouldn't mind being a dainty damsel once in a while, she chuckled darkly. "I'm a human torch so finding Mr. Right won't be on the menu for a very long time."

He watched her leave his presence and he felt madness descend on him in full as he let out a yell filled with his anger and hurt, and fueled by his isolation. Since he was a mere boy he had wanted and waited for what all considered a fantasy to come to him. That childish hope in his heart had always secretly been there, known only by him. The death of his dreams occurred when he discovered himself to be an abomination… to be Jotun. At that moment he had thought: how could a monster born and made of ice ever touch the fiery flesh of a Dresleim? Nothing, Loki had ever done had ever been as horrid as being born a monster. Being Jotun is his greatest sin.

When Darcy had fell from her coverings bare before him, crowned, and covered in flames he thought himself truly mad and given to hallucinations. Then when she opened her mouth to berate him Loki wondered if the All-Father had finally decided to use the cruelest form of torture he could on Loki: Showing him his heart desires and how unattainable they truly were.

And then, his princess had passed through the barrier of his cell to stand before him, more beautiful and breathtaking than any goddess born of Asgard. Staring at her, Loki realized he could spend the rest of his existence gazing upon her and he would never tire.

The great God of Mischief and Lies had found himself speechless for a time, and thought himself foolish when his first meaningful utterance to Lady Darcy had been _"My lady what brings you to this realm? You are far from home."_ He had known the moment she had broken through the ancient magic of his cell that she was there for him. Loki had felt fear and excitement all at once. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to perform the first part of the courting ritual of the Dresleim, but found insecurities about the coldness running through his blood. How could fire and Ice ever touch without one destroying the other? Loki would not have overcome the voices of doubt in his head if it hadn't been for Darcy's words _: "Hey dude, do you think it's a good idea to tell your human hating brother that he has a human in his midst?"_

The irony had not been lost on Loki. He had spent a large part of his existence believing himself to be born of Asgard just to discover he was Jotun. Darcy a Dresleim born of Midgard believed herself to be human. They both had been lied to and misled and it was tragically comical. The woman had seemed so distraught at the thought her life had been a lie and in a rare moment of empathy Loki couldn't contain himself anymore, he had to touch her, and so he did.

Darcy's flesh was soft and smooth beneath his hand, the flames wrapping around her body felt like nothing more than soothing warmth that seeped into the coldest of his bones and provided a wordless comfort that he did not know he needed. The God of Mischief knew once he had touched her and felt her, manipulated the magic that was her that she had been carved by beings above even the Aesir just for him. He needed Darcy to see beyond her infatuation with his brother, to choose him.

"Damn you! Damn you Thor! She is meant to be mine, to see only me!" Loki grabbed his cot and flung it against the metal bars. The loud metal clanging of the cot against the bars reverberated through the tiny holding space. Loki felt the one piece of magic Odin had left him falter as his skin became blue in his rage, and his eyes burned red.

Asgard, Midgard, the throne… Thor possessed all of the things that should have rightfully belonged to him. Loki had been born to be a king! Darcy had been born to see him! Loki felt his anger abating to sorrow, and that sorrow morphed into determination. His breathing calmed and the cool palms of logic grasped his mind. He needed to plot and plan.

Trapped in his cage Loki had been without a plot or plan for so long, the only certainty being that whatever he did he would punish Thor in the worst way possible. Maybe he should pay the great Jane a visit.

'If Darcy believes Thor's woman to be a greater splendor to the eyes then herself, Jane must truly be a sight to behold.' Loki thought wickedly.

Jane was a key chess piece in his new game. He just needed to figure out how to play his hand. Smirking Loki snapped his fingers and a ball of fire he had pulled from Darcy's body came down from the ceiling to float obediently besides him as he bent over to grab the black obsidian mirror off of the floor.

What his princess was unaware of and what he tactfully left out his story is that: The obsidian slab not only works as a mirror but Loki could use it to watch Darcy and those around her. Loki held a hand out to the ball of fiery magic and let his frost giant abilities reach out and freeze it to a ball of ice. It would not stay frozen for long, so Loki crushed it into a fine power in his hands before eating it. Loki instantly felt the properties of the cell that weakened his magic lose power over him.

Having a goal, an objective to focus on again filled Loki with a sick twisted joy. He had failed in his conquering of Midgard, but he would not fail in his conquering of this new source of power. Loki held the slab watching Darcy Lewis studying the night sky of Asgard.

Darcy found herself standing on a lone balcony overlooking an elaborate and colorful garden filled with statues worthy of a museum. The garden didn't hold a candle though to the intensely beautiful night sky of Asgard. The purples, pinks, and pale blues slashed across the sky were breathtakingly beautiful. Just by looking at the sky Darcy knew that it was true: she had left Earth, and met the man responsible for almost destroying New York.

Just as Darcy's mind was drifting to thoughts of Thor's brother, the blonde god himself stepped out onto the Balcony behind her.

"Lady Darcy, are you well?" Thor asked concerned.

Darcy smiled a lopsided grin. Thor would always attach the Lady to her name, even if anyone who knew her would insist that she was anything but a Lady. A part of Darcy enjoyed being addressed as such, it made her feel special. Every woman deserved their own Asgardian prince. Really they should sell them in stores, give them away to girls at their coming of age parties. Darcy was willing to bet that there wasn't a single woman in Asgard with low self-esteem issues.

"As well as a candle stick can be bud." Darcy answered embracing herself and rubbing her arms as if she was cold even though she was anything but.

Thor walked to stand beside her and stare out over the garden. "From the state of my brother's chamber and his hateful looks, I surmise that you did not gleam the knowledge you wished."

Darcy glanced from Thor to her hands on the lip of the banister and the dark char marks she was leaving there.

"He might not have been a joy to be around, but he did tell me some stuff about what I am, but I'm not sure if he made it up or not. He is the God of Lies after all isn't he?" Darcy began to fidget nervously, not sure if she should tell Thor about Loki's little instant obsession with her.

"My brother does not lie all of the time. When we were but children, I often would find my brother alone staring up at the night sky after a day of training where I bested him yet again. I would ask him why he spent long hours searching the sky, since it does not change much over the course of many centuries." Thor paused and Darcy turned to look at him.

The wistful dazed look on Thor's face told Darcy that the blonde Asgardian had lost himself in a fond memory. Darcy admired Thor's handsome visage as he smiled warmly deep in thought.

"What did he say?" Darcy asked, wondering if Thor would even respond after minutes began to tick by in silence.

"Many times Loki refused me an answer, until one night after a day in training when my brother managed to best me with his magic. That night Loki felt himself in high spirits and humored me. He spoke of waiting, waiting for his fiery maiden to fall from the sky. She would be beautiful, her body would speak of the bounties of the universe and a crown of flame would adorn her head." Thor's eyes met Darcy's and he stared at her in confusion furrowing his blonde brows, before his face settled into a look of regret.

"I may have made a grave mistake bringing you before my brother. In Loki's state of madness he is more dangerous and unpredictable than anyone could have ever imagined. My brother behaved as if a man enamored and bewitched in your presence. I wanted to think his behavior normal after being without the warmth of a woman in so long a time in his imprisonment, but I know the look my brother gave you Lady Darcy. Loki is fascinated by you. You are like a book unread, a treasure undiscovered, a mystery unsolved. When Loki is fascinated, he does not leave the objects of his interest to be."

Darcy squeezed her hands into tight fist when they began to tremble slightly. "But he's locked up right?" Darcy asked feeling the mask of calm bravado slip away completely.

"I spoke to you of the guards that Loki drove to madness without needing to touch them. Loki need not escape his prison to harm you Lady Darcy. You need but be in his presence for a day and he will delve into the very essence that makes you who you are. He will gleam your weaknesses, your strengths and find out which way is best to hurt you. My brother craves a distraction in his madness, and the guards have proved unfitting. Mother, father, and I know him too well to be easily swayed by him." Thor reached out to place a warm hand over Darcy's trembling fist but faltered.

"I a-appreciate the offer of comfort big guy, but I'm sure Jane would kill me if I fricasseed her boyfriend." Darcy tried to make her voice sound careful and joking but it only came out as shaky as her hands.

Thor his body to face Darcy, giving her a small smile, and she knew that he was about to give her an 'everything will get better speech'.

"You cannot harm me Lady Darcy for I am Thor, son of Odin and God of Thunder." Thor gave Darcy a hopeful smile.

It was kind of impossible to stay frowning in the presence of a grinning Thor there was something magnetic about his personality. If Thor believed that there was sunshine beyond a canyon of trash and a dark stormy sky, anyone else could easily believe it. Thor's confidence, cockiness, strength and warmth were reassuring.

Darcy half-heartedly smiled as she turned to face him, pulling her dragon covering tightly around her. "I really wish I could hug you right now. I seriously need a hug right now and my Ipod" Darcy's eyes widened in horror as she exclaimed "Son-of- a motherfucking bitch!"

"What ails you Lady Darcy?" Thor asked concerned, glancing around momentarily as if an enemy could be hidden in the shadows of the balcony.

"I need to go to sleep right now." Darcy said suddenly, the fire encasing her seemed to burn brighter and higher as her anger increased.

Thor looked comically confused.

Darcy began to pace in the small space, before stopping and quickly bringing her right hand up to her face. For the first time since she had awoken she noticed her grandfather's ring on her finger. Sending the object a hateful glare Darcy began to talk to it.

"You may be my great-grandfather and I am trying, gods how I am trying not to use all of the cuss words I know against you right now. Do you know what you have done to me, besides turn my life into an X-Files episode? I will never be able to use my mother-bleeping freaking Ipod again. The one piece of technology besides my Taser and vibrator that brought me joy! I don't care how much my grandfather loved you… he never even met you…you have made it onto my Shi- I mean Crap list. I will go to sleep and when I do I will do whatever hocus pocus mumbo jumbo you did and give you a piece of my mind!"

Darcy took deep calming breaths.

"What transpires here?"

Darcy looked up from her ring to find her yelling had gained her an audience of not only the warrior three brandishing their weapons but a few other's she did not recognize who looked at her in a mixture of wonder and suspiciousness before glancing to a stunned Thor, who from the look on his face must be thinking that Darcy had finally flipped her lid and caught a one way trip to the nut farm. The crowd maintained a wide berth between the heat of Darcy's body and themselves.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the "Avengers" "Thor" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "X-men".

Author's Note: Review and be merry or more chapters I shall not carry…lol.

"Well damn, this is embarrassing." Darcy whispered looking around, she wanted to raise her hands in a gesture of 'I come in peace and mean you no harm' but then she would drop her cozy dragon covering and flash the onlookers. "I know I looked totally off my rocker talking to this ring on my finger, but I'm not insane yet." Darcy laughed nervously "This ring is connected to an alien that happens to be my so-not-receiving-a-gift-for-his-birthday great- grandfather. I was just sending him a message about the impending doom that is my rage." Darcy waited for the weapons to lower and when they didn't she began to ramble more. "So my name is Darcy Lewis, I know I look like something the good old doctor Who dragged in, but I really from Earth. I think you guys call it Midgard. I just found out that I might be a higher percentage of weird than I usually rank myself to be, and a top secret government agency wants to lock me away and dissect me and poke at my innards. I fell through a roof…or more like went through a roof and fainted and when I awoke I found myself on your awesomely cool planet. So-"

"Enough child! "A beautiful middle-aged looking woman glided through the crowd that parted at her voice. She wore a beautiful white gown trimmed in gold and her golden hair in long curled ringlets cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. The woman was poised and seemed stern as she gave the warriors three an admonishing look, before looking at an alarmed Darcy who she gave an amused smile. "You could talk the God of Mischief himself around in circles. You must be the woman Thor seeks shelter for. I am Frigga queen of Asgard, wife of Odin and mother to Thor and Loki."

"Mother." Thor said in acknowledgment of her presence.

Darcy found herself in awe. A real queen was standing before her, and she was covered in flames naked with just a blanket to shield her. 'Should I bow? Do I curtsy?' Darcy thought glancing to Thor who just smiled in amusement. Darcy gave Frigga a nervous smile before clumsily curtsying.

"I'm honored to meet you your majesty." Darcy felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, wondering how she should introduce herself to a queen. 'Come on Darcy you were a political science major, grow some balls.' Darcy mentally scolded herself before straightening her posture and trying to salvage the remaining shreds of her dignity. "My name is Darcy Lewis and…"

"Having been privy to your frenzied speech I know who you are Darcy Lewis of Midgard." Frigga said kindly.

"Oh." Darcy closed her mouth realizing that it had been open the entire time, Darcy watched Frigga study her appearance and then the trail of dark burn marks she was leaving all over the palace. Darcy winced. 'Do they lock people up in Asgard for unintentional vandalism?'

Darcy opened her mouth to say sorry and offer to pay for the damage 'though she knew her meager savings wouldn't cover it' but froze as she felt a tingling sensation on the index finger of her right hand. Darcy brought the golden ring to eye level. The ring emitted a darker blue glow, and Darcy felt her hand becoming possessed again 'shit'.

Turning to Thor Darcy gave him a worried look. "Something is about to happen, I don't know what it is but it doesn't feel good."

"Is that ring causing you harm? You must make haste to discard of it." Thor demanded, closing the distance between himself and Darcy as close as he could before the flickering flames around her became too much for him to bare comfortably.

"I would if I could, but this piece of junk isn't coming off." Darcy felt something building inside of her, as if it was trying to escape. Darcy's blue eyes furrowed in confusion trying to figure out what was about to occur.

Her Possessed arm and hand straightened to aim palm facing down at the grown beneath her. "I think you guys should stand back." Darcy whispered concentrated on the ground.

Thor began to usher the growing crowd back into the castle. Frigga cast her son a concerned look as she stood beside her son and in front of the crowd. Everyone watched as words written in dark ink appeared across the ground in a rushed frenzied script.

 _Forgive me my dearest Darcy, if future sight had been my gift I would have never awakened what rested dormant within you. Your blood is not purely Dresleim having been diluted by the coupling of myself with a mortal and your grandfather and father with, what I am beginning to suspect must have been more than human. I am of noble decent of Dresleim…but I could have never imagined…_

 _Dearest Darcy you have been chosen to bare the flame of my-our- people. You shine like a beacon and they will come for you._

 _In my selfish thirst for vengeance against my enemies I thought to use you to free me. The crown you adorn is all the proof they will need._

 _You know nothing of the dangers to come, you are unprepared, untrained, and I am at fault. Prophesies speak of one such as yourself…I did not see the signs._

 _I must wield you against your wishes this once to free myself from my imprisonment, so that I may ready you for what is to come. If you wish to run, I will run with you and hide you as best as I can._

Darcy watched as the writing stopped an inch from her feet, she felt an invisible force tugging her in all directions, and she looked up at Thor, her mouth moving wanting to say something, anything but she was too speechless. A fist of fear squeezed around her heart, as she felt her body involuntarily backing away. She knew instantly that she wasn't in control of her body her great-grandfather had kept true to his word and taken control over her.

"H-he's controlling me. T-Thor I can't move. Why can't I fucking control my own body?" Darcy asked frantically looking at Thor who came forward to grab her. Darcy's body leapt up in the air and she landed on the edge of the banister. She was scared to look behind her and down, the fall alone would kill her.

"Stop controlling me!" Darcy yelled.

Her own hand pulled the Dragon covering from around her and threw it in the air before her. Strange unknown words fell from her lips as her hands made slashing motions in the air. Darcy watched as the Dragon material tore in various places before being covered in the same blue light of her ring. The material swirled around Darcy attaching to her, forming what looked to be a suit on her that looked like the leather get-up that only the X-men seemed to be able to pull off. The body suit of Dragon hide fit to her as if a second skin, it even covered her once bar feet. The only part of Darcy's body left uncovered was her hands, neck, face and head.

Against her will Darcy snapped her fingers and watched as the (what she was expecting couldn't be made of actual gold) gold ring on her hand snapped in half. Half of the ring floated before her and expanded and reshaped until it became a Darcy sized form fitting armor that attached itself to her in various places. A golden chest and back plate covered her torso with indentations for her breast in the armor. Darcy's calves, ankles, forearms and thighs were wrapped in golden armor. The ring on Darcy's finger became whole and solid again.

If Darcy wasn't scared shitless she could appreciate the whole badass super hero look.

Darcy looked to the crowd on the balcony who were staring at Darcy uncertain if they should prepare for a battle or assist in helping free her from whatever magic that controlled her.

'Magic, shit where is the God of Mischief when I actually need him.' Darcy thought, willing to let Loki help or anyone help her at that moment.

When she began to actually levitate off of the banister and float out to over the garden Darcy knew she was screwed.

"Shit I can fly!" Darcy exclaimed not wanting to look down.

A loud whizzing sound filled her ears and Darcy watched as Mjonir was summoned by Thor who began to swing it in a helicopter motion and fly to stand before her in the sky.

"Lady Darcy! You must tell me what I can do to assist you." Thor yelled as the peaceful night sky of Asgard filled with storm clouds.

"I don't think there's anything anyone can do." Darcy said trying to remain as calm and level headed as she could be. "I'm going back to Earth rather I want to or not Thor. I-I'm going to free the man responsible for doing this to me. He says he won't go looking for a fight with his enemies, but he seriously hates S.H.I.E.L.D." Darcy felt the tears slide down her cheeks and wondered how it was possible to cry when she was on fire. Darius didn't take control of her mouth or eyes at least. "I'm guessing S.H.I.E.L.D won't just hand him over will they? Ever kickass agent is going to be on my ass, and I'm going to die. God I'm going to die aren't I?" Darcy watched as Thor tensed.

"You have my word that it will not come to that, Jane and I will not let S.H.I.E.L.D end your life." Thor spoke in that serious voice that made Darcy want to believe what he said.

"I can feel what he's planning." Darcy said biting her full lips and furrowing her brows in concentration. Darcy flew up higher and stared off towards the now broken rainbow bridge site. Without her wanting it to her body began to fly in that direction, until Thor appeared before her, causing her to jerk to a stop, and form a fireball in her hand.

Thor looked from the fireball to Darcy's eyes wearily.

"I think I'm about to burn you out of my way, if you don't move." Darcy closed her eyes. "I'll free you Darius, just leave everyone here alone. Thor is one of the good guys ok." Darcy spoke quietly. She sighed when the ball fire dispersed back into her body.

"Can you not fight his control?" Thor bellowed across from her.

"This is all sort of new to me you know. Convincing him not to make me throw flames at you to let me pass is kind of taking all of my concentration. He knows you work for S.H.I.E.L.D so you already have points against you."

"Does he mean to harm your world or those of S.H.I.E.L.D's employ when he is freed?" Thor asked.

Darcy looked down at the people gathered below. There was an old guy with a jeweled eye patch and a staff with royal looking robes walking with a small battalion behind him.

"Thor! What is the meaning of this? Is this child foe or friend?" The old man yelled.

Looking at Darcy one more time before looking down, Thor spoke "Father, Lady Darcy remains a friend of Jane and myself. She is bewitched by the ring that adorns her finger, controlled by her great-grandfather. He controls her in an effort to free himself from his Midgardian prison. I regret to say that I require Loki's assistance."

"That, I cannot permit. Loki is far immersed in his madness and has yet to be redeemed." The All-father replied.

"Thor!" Darcy yelled as she flew over his head in a blaze. Flames whipped around her as she soared over the palace towards the broken bridge.

Glancing behind her she could see Thor speed in her direction holding Mjonir out and aimed forward, he raced like a bullet through the air towards her.

Loki had long since left the enclosure of his cell, leaving a replica of himself in his place. He used his magic to hide in the shadows gracing the balcony as he stared down at the crowd gathered below that appeared as if they were preparing for battle. He was well aware of what had occurred here tonight, he had seen everything through the mirror, even when Thor pleaded with the All-father to allow Loki to assist in freeing Darcy from her relative's control. Loki had wanted to come to the intriguing woman's rescue numerous times but he held himself back, knowing that he could not afford to be rash where his treasure was concerned. Loki needed to ease his way into the Dresleim Princesses' heart, while simultaneously erasing Thor from there and he could not accomplish that while in Asgard.

'Midgardians will not take kindly to having me in their midst again.' Loki thought smiling before heading off to a secret portal between Asgard and Midgard. After all he did owe S.H.I.E.L.D their downfall.

Darcy landed on the broken rainbow bridge and stopped short at the sight of a tall dark skinned man dressed in gold armor standing with a staff in hand and giving her a challenging look. "I do not see why you have wasted your efforts in coming this way, the Bifrost has yet to be repaired." Heimdall explained simply.

Darcy knelt down and rested a palm against the rainbow bridge, and as Thor appeared behind her she vanished in a burst of blue light before a familiar swirl of color engulfed her. Darcy blinked when she reappeared out in the middle of what appeared to be a dessert.

"What the hell?" Darcy asked, squinting her eyes at the harsh glare of the sun as her body moved with a will not her own, Darcy took in the barren scenery and wondered briefly if Shield somehow had a base out here, and if they did where could it be.

Darcy's feet lifted off of the ground and she flew low over the desert floor, stopping after what felt like hours over a non-discreet metal door in the sand. Darcy rolled her eyes in irritation of S.H.I.E.L.D's creativity in hiding their hideouts.

Involuntary lifting a hand to the door, Darcy watched biting her lip as the door began to warp and melt under the heat, oozing molted metal down into the dark tunnel below it. When she was done with the doors, there wasn't anything solid left to make a sound.

Bending her head down, Darcy looked at the dark tunnel descending deep into the earth with trepidation. She didn't want to go down there, but realized it wasn't her choice as her body ignored the ladder descending down and just flew to the bottom.

The concrete walls of the tunnel became illuminated by the torch that is her body. Darcy came to a point in the tunnels that seemed to curve sharply right.

'Another door?' Darcy eyed the door. This one was a hell of a lot more high tech than the first door. There was a hand scanner, and some other weird spy agency thing-a-ma-jigs attached to the door.

The ring on Darcy's finger glowed and her blood boiled in anger as the familiar cursive script of Darius appeared glowing on the ceiling above her head as her ringed finger pointed upward.

 _Daughter of my son's son, a trap awaits you beyond this door. The agents are aware of your presence. They attempt to drug me. I will not be able to maintain control over your vessel much longer. I am aware of the loathing you must hold for me dearest, should you choose to turn back and walk away I will hold not a drop of animosity towards you._

The written ended and the metal door began to ease open on its own.

Darcy closed her eyes tightly clenching her fist at her sides after lowering her raised hand; she could feel her great grandfather's control over her faltering, as she gained more control over her body as the seconds ticked by.

'Way to guilt trip me.' Darcy mentally fumed, wanting to turn her back and run as far and fast away from everyone who wanted something from her. Leaving her incarcerated, body snatching, alien great grandfather in prison seemed like the sane and rational thing to do. S.H.I.E.L.D had to have a good reason for keeping Darius locked in the desert and underground. Darcy could either choose to be a rational good guy superhero, someone Thor would be proud of, or she could be really stupid and get labeled a villain all for the sake of family. Darcy had seconds to make a decision.

Later when Darcy had time to herself to think and rationalize why she chose to do what she did, she would blame her hormones, her lack of IPod time, and fear and confusion about not having anyone who could help her become normal again; because even if she still had Jane and Thor in her corner, none of them could understand what the fuck was happening to her. The only person who came close was Thor's crazy brother Loki, and Darcy couldn't shake the feeling that she would be digging herself a far worse hole if she messed around with the God of Lies and Mischief.

The door clicked opened fully and Darcy's watery eyes opened.

"Miss Lewis."

'I am so a fucking villain, I'm going straight to villainous hell.' Darcy thought laughing without mirth at her fucked up life. Captain America and a fierce looking red-headed chick wearing a head to toe leather and boot outfit stood side by side eyeing Darcy as if she was a ticking time bomb.

"Miss Lewis we don't want to hurt you. Please surrender quietly and we'll do the best we can to help y-" Captain America began.

"I may have forgot to pay a few speeding tickets, and I still have a library book that is overdue, but how did I become a criminal? I'm just-I was just a political science major, I wanted to go into politics, change the world. No one has ever really noticed me and all of a sudden I can't seem to get away from all this fucked up shit." Darcy's breath hitched. "And I'm so fucking sick of crying." Darcy wiped at her eyes. "How can I even produce tears? I'm on fire."

Captain America watched the sobbing young woman with a look of sympathy on his face. "You aren't a criminal, and you don't have to be. Everyone has a choice." Captain America said soothingly.

Black Widow rolled her eyes. "Fury will be the judge of that. Your disappearing act in Massachusetts resulted in an explosion that killed 9 agents." Black Widow said calmly, leveling the gun in her hand with Darcy's face.

"I didn't kill anyone. That wasn't me." Darcy knew instantly that this wouldn't become a friendly and understanding capture. They weren't going to sit around her and toast Marshmallows on her open flames and share stories of psychotic relatives. If she didn't fight she'd never see the light of day again.

"Anybody up for some S'mores?"

Darcy tensed at the voice at her back.

"Tony, you were ordered to remain hidden." Captain America sent a frown over Darcy's head.

"Eh, what can I say? I couldn't sit by and not see the person responsible for the almighty Fury's raise in blood pressure. I wondered what all of the secrecy was about, is this it?" Tony asked casually raking his eyes up the back of Darcy's body.

Putting her back to the tunnel wall beside her, Darcy stood so that Iron man was at her right side and Captain America and the Black Widow was on her left. These were the guys who defeated Loki, and an alien army, Darcy did not want to have her back to any of them.

"Well now that I see her front, I can understand. You're pretty hot, pun intended." Tony said lifting the mask on his Iron Man suit and smirking. Tony's smirk faded into a frown.

"How old are you kid?" Tony asked.

"Trying to see if you can get in my pants without landing in jail?" Darcy asked smirking despite the dire circumstances.

"Wow, sexy and a mind reader. What else can you do?" Tony asked, turning to lean against the wall across from Darcy, as if they had all of the time in the world.

"Name all of the presidents in chronological order, belch the alphabets, and make a cup of coffee so good you'll swear you've died and gone to Starbucks." Darcy said jokingly. She always joked when she got nervous, or scared shitless.

"I see, so you're in your early twenties. Kind of young for S.H.I.E.L.D level villainy though. What's your plan… world domination?" Tony asked rubbing his chin in deep thought as he studied Darcy. "Totally overdone and cliché by the way." Tony added.

"I just want to lose the flames, listen to my IPod and go off to an island somewhere for a very long time. You're pretty loaded. Can you loan a broke ex-college student an island?" Darcy joked.

"I don't get it." Tony said all of a sudden standing up to his full height and addressing the two agents blocking the entrance to the open door.

"I don't get why you're wasting time chatting when we have a job to do." The black widow sent a glare Tony's way.

"I see Katnis hasn't been giving you any lately." Tony retorted.

"Keep running your mouth and I'll shoot you in it." The Black widow said, not taking her eyes off of Darcy.

"Tony, stop antagonizing her." Captain American ordered.

"Yes dad, whatever you say." Tony held up his hands in mock surrender.

Darcy couldn't believe her eyes. These people were the Avengers who saved the world? Who defeated Loki? "And Jane called me immature." Darcy said aloud.

"You don't grab me as the kill, destroy, and maim type kid. Which leaves the question: Why does Fury want to lock you up and throw away the key?"

"She's responsible for an explosion that killed 9 agents." Black Widow answered.

Darcy shot the redhead a glare as her flames angrily lashed out around her. "I said it wasn't me!" Darcy yelled in irritation, moving from against the wall.

"Jarvis you got the readings on that heat?" Tony asked aloud.

A spike of pain shot through Darcy, and without even thinking she felt herself falling as the rainbow colors of teleportation engulfed her.

Darcy reappeared in a blindingly white operation room with a single metal operation table in the center of it. Wires and machines surrounded the table, as what appeared to be doctors huddled around it. Darcy noticed the hand lifelessly dangling from the table, and saw the ring similar to her own and knew who ever it was, was unconscious or worse on top of the operation table. She didn't speak, everything felt too much like her grandfather's last moments alive in the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: This fanfic has a rating of 'M', so it will get pretty graphic from here on out. Lemons, gore, etc. The next chapter (chapter five) has a lemon. I figured I'd put that warning out there.

Read, Review, and be Merry.

Disclaimer: I don't own the "Avengers", "Thor", "X-men", "Captain America", or "The Guardians of the Galaxy".

The doctor's noticed her, tools clattered to the floor, and yells of 'guards' and 'please don't hurt us' filled the room. Darcy walked as if on autopilot to the operation table. She felt the bile rise in her throat. They had cut Darius's open from his chest to his stomach and all of his insides were on display, as if they had planned to dissect him. He was strapped down to the table naked with a sheet covering his lower half.

"Oh god." Darcy whispered repeatedly as she swayed on her feet. Her stomach couldn't hold out and she vomited the meager contents of her stomach onto the pristine marble floor. She needed to get out of here, they were going to cut her open and dissect her. She wouldn't leave Darius's body here, she would bury him. He deserved that much. She didn't know where to go, even if she could randomly appear somewhere else. Where would she be safe?

"You came."

Darcy turned around. Darius's blue eyes were open and staring at the ceiling as he spoke through the oxygen mask.

"You're alive?" Darcy asked feeling a mixture of horror and nausea.

"I cannot die in this world. You must make haste…" Darius rasped.

"How do I get us out of here? Where do we go?" Darcy asked frantically holding her non- flaming hands over Darius's open torso; wanting to help him but not knowing how.

"I'm not on fire anymore." Darcy stared at her hands in wonder and joy.

"Room weakens us the longer-stay." Darcy wheezed before coughing.

'Imagine that, S.H.I.E.L.D has managed something the Every father couldn't with his magic draining cells' Darcy thought.

"Don't move!" The voice of the Black Widow boomed from behind Darcy.

"We can't get out of here can we?" Darcy asked in realization.

"Y-yes. The orb." Darius said lifting a finger to point above their heads to a black orb floating around the room.

"I said don't move!" The Black Widow ordered.

"I have to unstrap you." Darcy said ignoring Black Widow as she carefully removed the straps holding her great grandfather down.

"Unhook everything, I shall be fine." Darius said weakly pulling off his oxygen mask.

A warning shot was fired behind her, but Darcy didn't stop until she had unhooked everything from Darius. The machines around them began to make warning sounds from being disconnected.

Darcy felt a hand on her shoulder and froze thinking that the Black Widow had crossed the room that quickly. Just as Darcy was about to turn around she felt lips by her ear and heard a voice that sent a shiver down her spine. Loki.

"Do you wish me to save you and this man, my dainty damsel?" Loki purred seductively. Darcy just shook her head in the affirmative.

"My magic fades; I will need to use yours uninhibited." Loki continued.

Darcy frowned when she felt Loki's palm rest against the small of her back before trailing across her side and to her stomach as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back flush against him.

"Anything." Darcy groaned at her own stupidity as the God of Mischief smiled against her ear.

A pulling sensation started behind her navel, and Darcy watched as flames rapidly covered her again before dispersing from her in a burst of energy that shattered all of the lights in the room. She felt Loki pull away from her before the sound of gunshots rang out in the air. Just as Darcy tried to duck for cover she felt the lithe form of the God of Lies press against the back of her again, his fingers slid down her arm until his hand was wrapped around hers.

Darcy couldn't understand why she felt so freaking turned on by being basically molested in the dark by a psychopath.

Loki lifted Darcy's hand to the ceiling and rotated his arm and hers in an arc. Another burst of energy poured from Darcy's body this time leaving her to weakly lean all of her weight onto the god behind her as her vision blurred in the darkness.

Something made a loud whining noise and Loki pulled fourth more energy from Darcy's body positioning their arms to aim at another space above them in the darkness. Darcy whimpered as a pain shot up her spine.

"Good girl." Loki said skimming his lips across her cheek.

If she had the energy Darcy would have kicked him in the balls for doing whatever he was doing to her but seeing that she was just barely holding on to consciousness she saved her plan for a later date.

Angry yells, gunfire and loud explosions sounded from outside of the operating room and Darcy briefly wondered if Loki had managed to sneak his alien army in with him.

As Loki forced another burst of energy from her Darcy thought she would die. She couldn't hold onto consciousness any longer. The last sound Darcy heard was of shattering glass.

Loki smirked in satisfaction as the orb that had been draining him and the two Dresleims burst and rained down what felt like shards of glass against his skin.

He quickly lifted the fainted woman against him in his arms to carry her bridal-style as flames engulfed her body fully again. Loki had cloaked the facility in darkness, while using clones of himself to keep the Avengers busy.

"I knew seekers of my great granddaughter's power would come, but I never expected an Asgardian... no, not merely an Asgardian…a Frost giant."

Loki's green eyes quickly locked on the man who had been lying prone on the operation table, he was now eying Loki with disdain. The man's eyes were a fierce blue. Loki sneered at the mention of his true heritage, before quickly covering his sneer with a tight lipped expression. "We must depart. I cannot be seen on Midgard." Loki said authoritatively.

"We?" Darius asked curiously raising a thick eyebrow, before looking down at his open torso. "Well this is problematic." Darius grunted in pain as he tried to sit up, before giving up and lying back down. "I do dislike the drugs they use to subdue me." Darius said shaking his head as his vision swam. "Are you an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D?" Darius asked giving Loki a hard calculating look, then staring at the woman in his arms fondly.

The God of Lies studied the middle-aged man across from him closely. The Dresleim took on the appearance of the inhabitants of whatever world they graced with their presence. In all of Loki's studies he had never discovered what they truly looked like. He briefly wondered how the woman in his arms would react upon learning that there was a possibility that her Midgardian appearance might be a mask of her true self even with her flames.

Loki frowned in annoyance as thoughts of his own masked appearance began to surface in his mind. "I am an enemy of many including this S.H.I.E.L.D and their band of buffoons." Loki spat, humoring Darcy's relative's question merely because the man might prove of use later.

"So you would not be adverse to my vengeance upon them? Good. Take the queen of my people to the sight of the Stonehenge and guard her with your life." Darius said smiling wickedly. "For I tire of peace, and I fear these mortals have turned me into the monster they've always accused me of being." "I require that agent you so kindly knocked unconscious. I would acquire her myself…" Darius trailed off and Loki took the hint and waved a hand causing the Black Widow's body to float across the room and rest over the legs of Darius prone form.

"What is it you plan to do with her?" Loki asked curious. He could care less what would become of Barton's lover. He was merely interested in what magic the Dresleim might preform.

Darius brought a hand to curl one of Natasha's red strands around his finger. "What shield has done is what will be done to her." "My queen must be taken out of here." Darius eyes never left the face of the red-headed agent.

"You trust me to take her?" Loki asked surprised.

Darius eyed the Frost Giant holding his descendant with a smile on his bearded face. "I recognize madness in you boy, something similar to my own; it rests besides a mischievous nature, and an unappreciated intelligence. You have double-crossed many in your existence, but you will not double-cross me just yet, the bell still hangs over your head." Darius said sagely.

Loki gave the man a look of utter confusion mixed with suspicion. "I am afraid you have lost me with your inane babble, but you need not worry I only wish to court Lady Darcy. What awaits us once we appear at this Stonehenge?" Loki did not take pleasure at being read so easily.

"My informant whom you will know the instant you see her. Can't miss her in a crowd of mortals. She will escort you somewhere hidden from pests. You are aware of our courting rituals boy?"

Loki frowned at being addressed as boy while watching Darius snap his fingers to repair the lights.

"They must see what terror looks like." Darius chuckled as he sat up, his organs dangling out precariously as he lifted the bleeding body of the Black Widow into his lap.

An explosion rocked the room, and Loki knew he could not stay to discover the fate of the agent he would have enjoyed torturing in front of her lover. "I am well versed in the knowledge of your culture." Loki muttered before vanishing holding Darcy's unconscious body possessively.

"I do not doubt that you are." Darius whispered to the empty operation room, tilting the Black Widow's head to expose her neck to him. "As I do not doubt that you will not go to Stonehenge."

When Loki reappeared it was not at the Stonehenge, since Midgardians would react adversely to the sight of a man appearing out of thin air carrying a flaming woman; though he did miss the Midgardian's screams of terror at the sight of him, he wasn't in the mood to deal with any disruptions at the moment, while he contemplated his next course of action.

'Where shall I keep you safe? You would set fire to any Midgardian dwelling I could acquire for us.' Loki thought looking around the old empty stone Midgardian building of worship, eying the wooden benches with a frown. He had been to this- what did Midgardians call it? Ah yes, a church. He had been to this particular church during his last visit to this worthless mud ball, surprised to find what once had been a burial ground for sacrifices to him, had been desecrated for the erection of a place of worship for the Midgardians latest fancy. Loki chuckled. Midgardians were so fickle in their choice of deities, so quick to worship whoever inspired fear in them, or roused their attention with the promise of a golden afterlife. He had seen it all, and it equally amused and disgusted him. Beings so fickle in their attentions deserved to be governed by someone more powerful and capable than their pathetic minds could even fathom. They were sheep to be butchered, used, and herded until their shepherd grew bored with them. Loki curled his lip in disgust when a rat scurried across the dusty stone floors.

"Mmhm." Darcy gave a small moan of what Loki assumed was discomfort causing him to focus his attentions on her.

Loki stared down at Darcy, his face now void of emotions. The God of Mischief wasn't sure what to feel. At first there was the gut retching childlike wonder he felt at having a boyhood desire come to fruition, in the form of the one he had waited for being carried in by his oaf of a brother. To think! Darcy had been living as a Midgardian on Midgard for so long: When he sent the Destroyer to kill his brother, when he brought a mighty army to lay waste to Midgardian cities and assist in enslaving all that he viewed worthy of suffering his rule.

'I could have killed her, and I would have never known.'

The thought caused something deep inside of Loki to tremble and ache, as he paled in realization of what his narrow-minded desire for conquest could have cost him.

Darcy knew she was being carried, and whoever was carrying her had an uncomfortable grip on her arms. She inhaled deeply and moaned in irritation and pleasure as she recognized the scents of leather, rain, and mingle of something spicy and sweet…was that licorice? Darcy knew the moment she opened her eyes she would have to ask the burning question of what exactly the God of Lies wanted from her.

"How can someone so mental smell so good? You could make a killing if you bottled your scent and sold it around the world." Darcy mumbled in irritation while opening her heavy eyelids to stare up at the god holding her, who was looking a little paler than usual. Darcy frowned in concern.

"Are you ok?" Darcy wondered what could have spooked the one person that could give the bogeyman a heart attack. Loki gave her a curious look.

"You are concerned about me?" The God of Mischief sounded a little too pleased for Darcy's taste.

"You may be enemy number one and all, but even I'm not bitch enough to not show appreciation for having my life saved, even if you do have ulterior motives." Darcy broke their eye contact to look for the man who was responsible for having the government on her ass. "Where's Darius?"

"Your way with words are as intriguing as your concern for men you consider enemies." Loki said with a smirk on his lips.

"Well, lately the heroes have been acting like the villains and the villains have been performing random acts of heroics. I'm in the Twilight Zone and I don't know who to trust anymore besides my father, Thor and Jane." Darcy tried to raise a leg to climb down from Loki's hold, since he didn't seem to want to put her down.

"I have known Thor for far longer than you could fathom. What has he done in such a short time to garner your trust?"

Darcy paused in her escape attempts at the tone of Loki's voice. The God of Mischief didn't sound angry or bitter no, he strangely sounded desperate.

"If you put me down I'll tell you." Darcy bargained.

Loki remained quietly holding her for a few more minutes before placing her on her feet before him.

Pacing away from the somber god Darcy narrowly avoided setting a wooden pew on fire. Of all the places the man who was practically Satan incarnate could have holed them up in, he chose a church. If her mother knew the company her daughter had been keeping she would have her exorcised. Darcy smiled at the thought. With her back to Loki she began her explanation of why Thor was so easy to trust.

"When I was a kid I would always get into fights, you know general school hierarchy stuff. Well I got tired of being bullied so I kind of rearranged my tormentors face with a rusty pipe and that landed me in a lot of trouble. I winded up in court for an assault with a deadly weapon charge. Luckily for me my mother was sleeping with the judge's brother and drinking buddies with his wife. Ended up getting three months of community service as my punishment at my local animal shelter."

Loki found himself momentarily amused at the thought of the woman before him as a small child beating someone. Though in her current state of dress she did look quite formidable. The golden armor and dragon hide body suit hugged her body seductively. Loki's attention went back to Darcy's words when she uttered Thor's damnable name again.

"Thor is a lot like a dog."

"At least in that view we are in agreement." Loki said amused.

Darcy spun around to face Loki with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. "Typical, you totally zoned out on what I was saying, because if you had been listening you would have known that Thor being dog like is a compliment and not an insult."

"Oh this I must hear." Loki said dramatically taking a seat at one of the wooden benches, stretching an arm over the top of the bench while resting the other on his thigh.

Rolling her eyes at the God of Mischief's dramatics Darcy began to pace around the room again.

"Animals are a hell of a lot more honest than humans. We hide our true nature, dogs are open and honest when they dislike you they let you know it, and when they are happy they let you know it. Thor is a lot like a Golden Retriever…you know a breed of dog…he's open and honest about what he feels. I saw the way he looks at you all hopeful. Thor somehow obviously cares about you even after you tried to kick his ass on numerous occasions, which proves that he's loyal. He lives his life with an enthusiasm that's borderline stupid and naïve, and inspiring." Darcy paused to admire the stained glass windows depicting scenes of angels around a baby. "He saw Jane, he liked Jane, and went after her; as simple as that."

Loud laughter filled the empty church and Darcy turned from the stained glass window to look at Loki bewildered.

Clutching his stomach and wiping at his eyes Loki tried to contain his immense amusement at Darcy's reasoning. Sobering in his amusement, Loki addressed the frowning Dresleim with a smile on his face. "You fancy Thor's simplicity, his stupidity and naivety?" Loki stood to his full height and slowly approached Darcy, his jovial smile becoming dark and menacing. "Oh how you would have desired him before he encountered his dearest Jane. His rashness would have been the downfall of all Asgard!"

Darcy didn't back away in fright she held her ground and studied the God of Lies in curiosity, before her eyes widened in realization.

"Are you jealous of Thor?" Darcy asked stupidly. The giant robot, the attack on New York... was a cry for help, an adult sized tantrum. Now he was trying to convince Darcy of Thor's faults. It was odd for some reason Darcy was feeling oddly perceptive.

Loki faltered in his advancing. "That imbecile lacks anything worthy of envy or jealousy." Loki spoke with an icy edge to his voice.

Sighing and shaking her head at the obvious show of denial in front of her, Darcy crossed her arms over her armor covered breast. "I think you need to get laid, all of that pent up anger is not good for you. You've been incarcerated too long." Darcy said in irritation.

The woman's odd way of speak caused Loki again to pause in his rage. "Laid?" Loki asked wanting a translation.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's see what word would they use in Asgard? You need to have sex, make the beast with two backs, bump and grind, get your freak on, go shagging. The last one I threw in because you sound British." Darcy tapped her finger to her chin in thought, while looking at the ceiling. "I would give you the phone number to a couple of slutty girls who pissed me off in college, but seeing as you hate all humans, I can't see that working out. How do you feel about hookers?"

"Have you always been given to random mental flights of fancy?" Loki asked staring at Darcy with a raised eyebrow, his rage all but forgotten as a blush stained his cheeks and a smirk uplifted his lips.

"Yep." Darcy looked back at the tall Asgardian before her, and instantly wished she hadn't brought up the topic of sex. How could she have forgotten Loki's fixation with getting into her panties.

"Is it your belief that time inside of a woman will cure my rage and madness?" Loki asked cupping Darcy's cheek and bringing his face closer to hers, their eyes locking.

"I'm sure sex is good, but it isn't a miracle drug." Darcy laughed nervously. 'Is he going to kiss me!?'

Loki brought his lips to Darcy's ear pressing his cheek against hers. "If that is indeed the case, I will spend the rest of my existence between your thighs fucking my madness away." Loki pulled Darcy's flame covered body flush against him, keeping his head ducked low to whisper in her ear. He normally would not have used such crude language in courtship, but there was something about Darcy that brought out the crudeness and crassness in him.

Darcy groaned as moisture began to pool in her panties from his words. 'Why is he such a turn on? And why can't I pull away?"

"Do not doubt my want of you lovely Darcy. I have seen you bare, you were built to please and be pleased, and I wish to please you." Loki trailed kisses down Darcy's throat causing her to moan and shiver against him in shameful pleasure.

"We don't even know each other." Darcy rasped out pushing her hands against Loki's solid chest. "And we are in a church."

Smiling against Darcy's collar bone Loki gently nipped her. "You wish to know me first?"

"I don't do one night stands." 'Anymore' Darcy gasped as Loki rested a hand on her armored hip. Coldness seemed to radiate from his hand that traveled through the material, and Darcy had to grip Loki's odd leather armor to keep from falling to her knees from the pleasure that traveled through her body.

"Please." Darcy begged, not really sure what she was begging for. Part of her was frightened another part angry, and the other turned on.

"Your flames do not harm me. They are merely magic in pure form. In this way I shall be the only one to ever touch you." Loki kissed her cheek, causing Darcy's eyes to flutter closed.

"You should really consider changing your name to, Loki god of Lies, Mischief and Seduction." Darcy mumbled.

"Unhand her!" Darcy's eyes widened at the sight of Darius fully healed and dressed in his weird magician costume. Darius's raspy voice boomed through the church making Darcy feel like a kid caught in the cookie jar, even though it was Loki on the receiving end of her great-grandfather's ire.


	5. Chapter 5

"W-ha, how are you ok?" Darcy asked in shock, remembering her great-grandfather lying cut open on an operation table.

Loki slowly and sensuously slid his hand from her hip, up her side, simultaneously giving her a devious look, before pulling away and turning to face the middle-age man who dared to issue him an order.

"This dearest, is why we stay away from sorcerers and questionable Frost Giants." Darius marched across the room like a general ready to go to war as he stood just an inch under Loki's impressive height. "Do not look so sour, I knew you would not go directly to Stonehenge."

"You wish to challenge me?" Loki asked dangerously.

"Hey! If anyone's challenging my Psycho great-grandfather it's me." Darcy yelled, walking to stand between the two tall men with Loki at her back.

"You ruined my life, change me back." Darcy demanded.

Darius looked down at his great granddaughter regretfully. "What is it that you wish to go back to? Enemies have already been made and unlikely allies formed." Darius glanced at Loki over Darcy's head, which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"I'm not a villain and you are not making me one. I'm going home." Darcy made to move from between the two and Loki wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her to rest against him.

"Let me go jackass!" Darcy struggled against Loki's abnormally strong hold.

"My dearest I do not enjoy the fact that this boy gifted the title of God of Lies and Mischief will prove to be more trustworthy than even myself. He has informed me of his intentions to court you under the ways of my people. Though you were born on this planet and raised human Darcy the queen gene has been activated in you, and I am afraid you cannot pretend to be anything else than what you are now Dresleim." Darius sighed as if tired. "There are dark forces in the universe, far more wicked than the God of Mischief could ever hope to be, and they will see your light like a beacon and they will come, wanting what he wants from you." Darius stared at Darcy sadly. "I can see into hearts dearest, and he might be the lesser of the evil suitors that will come."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Darcy said in disbelief and horror. "You mutate me, kidnap me, and now you're trying to force me into dating the man who tried to destroy my world?" "I'd rather take my chances on whatever might come for me." Darcy bit out enraged, feeling Loki tense behind her but not caring. The nerve of them! They act like the Women's Right Movement never happened. Bunch of barbaric, knuckle dragging, sexist cavemen. Darcy felt her flames lashing out wildly around her, she wanted to hurt someone, but knew the bastards around her were immune to the blow torch that she had become. Darcy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a thought occurred to her. Why wasn't her great-grandfather covered in flames.

"You know how to stop this don't you? Why aren't you covered in flames?" Darcy asked in accusation.

Darius smiled sadly as his eyes took on a faraway look. "I have shared myself, and my flame rests with my dearest Yvette, the sorceress of my heart."

"Why does everything have to be a riddle with you two?" Darcy asked annoyed. "And you! Let me go, now." Darcy growled out as she struggled free of Loki's hold. "You two don't even know each other and you share the goal of making my life a living hell." Darcy backed away from them both. Darcy glared at the two men before her with all of the hatred she could muster. "Darius, you may be my great-grandfather but turning me into this was a shitty move." Darcy waved her hands over herself angrily. "I left Jane and all of the crazy shit that seemed to follow her behind, to live a semi-normal life. I don't need this." Not looking where she was going, Darcy backed into one of the wooden pew's falling backwards over it, while simultaneously catching it on fire.

"Fucking ouch." Darcy grumbled, stupidly gathering herself and trying to put the spreading flames out with her hands, which ended in her lighting more of the benches ablaze. Loki moved to help her with a sympathetic look on his face that Darcy would have balked at any other time had she not been such a mess.

The church was burning and it was all her fault.

Sitting crumpled on the floor Darcy stared helplessly at her hands, not knowing rather to scream or to cry. She just knew she wanted to be anywhere but there. She wanted to be alone with loud music blaring in her ears.

Waving a hand, Loki caused a cold wind to sweep through the room, putting out the flames.

"You will never believe that I am innocent in this. I did not know you possessed the gene of royalty my child." Darius walked past Loki and stood above Darcy. "You must rise. I have been gone far too long from my world, but I have not forgotten what is expected of its queen. What is done is done. You can never go back, nor should you desire to do so. This form is not the true image of our people. Share yourself with and take on their image completely; thus diminishing the flames." Darius knelt down to rest a hand against Darcy's cheek.

"What kind of great-grandfather are you? Telling me to go and get laid?" Darcy groaned and shoved Darius's hand away, burying her face in her hands.

"Dresleim can you not see the truths behind my façade?" Loki asked Darius quietly.

"Yes, I can." Darius answered, while keeping his eyes on his great-granddaughter.

"Why do you persist that your descendant, allow me to have her? Surely you can find men more worthy than I? I am a monster… a trickster, a liar." Loki sounded as tired as Darius looked.

Darcy pulled her hands away from her face. 'Does he honestly see himself as a monster?' Darcy wondered. 'Though he should, after what he did to New York.' Darcy stared at Loki, and she could see the self-loathing and anguish that seemed to nest inside of him…and sadness. Images and memories that didn't belong to her flashed across her mind, feeding her the story of a destroyed man.

Darcy gasped at the foreign feelings pouring through her. There was so much despair in the God of Mischief, a tear slide down her face. 'What's happening to me?' Darcy wondered.

Darius sighed before standing. "Humanity is filled with a grave amount of strong emotions. That is why my people…our people came here. The hearts of humans called out to us, across the stars, so loud we began to feel what they felt. We developed an urge to devour their sorrows, hatred, and anger to free ourselves of those things." "If you do not share yourself while the flames have you, dearest child of mine, you will begin to feel all that every human on this planet feels. Darcy you will lose sight of where your own emotions end and other's begin. Feed on the one who offers himself before you, or madness may grip you." Darius closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

Darius began to speak again, but Darcy tuned him out.

"Please." Darcy begged.

Loki swallowed at the anguished look on Darcy's face. His heart leap at the thought that she was begging him to take her finally, that she didn't care that he was a monster. Loki licked his suddenly dry lips in anticipation. Everything and everyone around him seemed to fade away and there was only him and the woman who he burned for, as she shakily stood.

"What will you have of me, my lady Darcy?" Loki asked approaching Darcy. He smoothly grabbed her flame covered hand and placed a kiss atop of it. His growing smile became a frown when Darcy's eyes began to shed more tears.

Loki placed a hand against Darcy's cheek, furrowing his brows in confusion. "What causes such sorrow?"

"You."

Loki felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart, he dropped Darcy's hand and began to back away. 'She cannot desire a monster.' Loki thought brokenly.

Darcy watched Loki withdraw away from her. She took a step towards him and continued until he could no longer back away from her, as his back rested against one of the beams supporting the roof of the church.

"Fuck dude, you've had a really shitty life. It's no wonder you've been such a d-bag to everyone." Darcy sobbed. "I thought my life was royally fucked, but damn." Darcy wrapped her arms around the tense God of Lies.

In what felt like the thousandth time that week Darcy bawled her eyes out, and screamed into the snot covered Asgardian armor of the God of Mischief. She knew her life was totally Twilight Zone level fucked, because she was no longer crying for the unfairness of the crap that has happened to her, she was crying for the villain, the lied to child who grew up into a raging maniac.

Darius stared at the scene of his great-granddaughter holding onto the man who would, no-doubt fill the role that he was destined for in the tales of his people. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut as he thought of the lies he had meshed with truth to his great-granddaughter. There was another way to rid Darcy of the flames, but he was much too selfish for that. Darius would use the two before him to avenge his Yvette, and complete the mission he had refused to so long ago. His first place of business was to be Stonehenge. He would come back for the two pawns in his game at a later time. Darius vanished in a swirl of blue light, satisfied with the way his great-granddaughter clung to the Jotun.

"D-do you weep for me?" Loki asked, chuckling darkly. "Do not waste your tears dearest Darcy." Loki stared at the ceiling sadly.

"You're broken." Darcy said between breaths, as a memory of falling from the Bifrost and into the cold hands of a power so dark it remade her on contact; except it really wasn't her it was Loki, and he had been in so much pain.

Loki pulled Darcy's arms from around him and held her at arms length away from him.

Darcy watched the God of Lies try to fight the vulnerability showing on his face, and fail miserably. It was like, she was losing control of herself all over again as she reached a hand up to rest against the cheek of Earth's greatest villain. She needed to make him better; she would do anything to stop the pain.

"It would seem that Dresleims possess the abilities of empathy and mind reading." Loki said swallowing.

"W-what would it take to make you happy?" Darcy pleaded, even though she knew the answer after watching the God of Lies memories fly into her mind on auto-download. His pirate looking, eye-patch wearing father raised him on the lie that he would be a king someday. Darcy knew that at that moment whatever he asked for she would try to give him.

"Darcy…you do not ask such a question to a man starved of his greatest desires. If I am to believe the words of your great-grandfather than what you are feeling is unnatural, I will not have you like this. You must go, for I shall prove far nobler in this moment than any others to come." The magical guise of a well put together man vanished from Loki, to reveal his long and wavy unkempt hair, and dark sunken in eyes. Loki's face now appeared more hollow and sunken. His armor was replaced by a bloodstained white top and dark leather pants, his feet bare.

The God of Mischief clutched Darcy's shoulder's painfully tight as he tilted his head down to her level, bringing his face as close as possible to hers, while maintaining eye contact.

"I am darkness, madness, mischief, and deceit. I am wicked, and a monster. I am destruction and peril and no one shall be spared in my path!" Loki spat madly, as his eyes wildly searched hers. "I am a selfish man, and nothing I do is without benefit to me. I offer you to be free of me." Loki shook Darcy wanting to break her of the pity he could so clearly see in her sparkling blue eyes. "Allow me more than a glimpse of the power I have longed for and you shall lose all claims to freedom." Loki whispered in desperation, trembling with contained emotion as he dropped his hands from Darcy's shoulders and turned his back to her.

Darcy stared wide-eyed and fearful at Loki as his fist tightened at his side and his skin took on a dark shade of blue. 'He let me go.' Darcy thought in disbelief 'After all of the trouble he had gone through, here she stood a meal ticket to his sickest fantasies and he would let her walk away.' Darcy shook her head trying to rid herself of the stupid emotions of sympathy and pity welling up in her. 'He's the God of Lies and Mischief for crying out loud! This could be some kind of sick mind-fuck.' Darcy bit her lip. 'It has to be, why else would I feel like helping him?'

"Run!" Loki screamed, causing Darcy to jump in fright at the rage in his voice. He still had his back to her. Loki stood breathing hard and trembling... and blue.

Darcy had always been known for her boldness that bordered on stupidity and a lack of self-preservation. When people told her no, or to not do something because it was dangerous or bad for her, she had always done the complete opposite, because she wanted to know why she shouldn't.

She took a step.

As a child she had to learn everything the hard way, because the easy way was boring. When everyone at Murphy's Animal Shelter told her to stay away from Teeth, a vicious mixed breed dog with a penchant for snarling and biting anyone who approached, she hadn't listened. Three months later Darcy had become the only one Teeth didn't greet with a bite or a growl.

The obviously crying god wasn't a dog, and he was hell bent on ruling something even if it meant her.

With each step she took Darcy knew that she was on the cliff of screwed and was about to jump into the ocean of totally fucked. 'It's not like I've never had sex before, and this isn't for him, it's for me. I'll get to be normal flame-free Darcy again'. Darcy repeated the lie, until she had convinced herself of its truth. 'Thor and Jane will come and save me, and Loki will go back to his luxury cell. I'll go into god level witness protection and all will end well. Yep, this isn't stupid and I won't regret it.'

 _Allow me more than a glimpse of the power I have longed for and you shall lose all claims to freedom_. The possessive words repeated in Darcy's mind causing her to falter in her steps. 'It's just sex.'

Loki tensed and inhaled deeply the moment Darcy hesitantly placed a hand on his back.

Darcy left Jane and her exciting life to attempt a life of semi-normalcy, the kind of life her father had always wanted for her, and now she stood in a church about to give herself to a devil to be free of her flaming hell.

"I'm sorry for the shitty life you had." Darcy closed her eyes and swallowed. "I'm sorry that you feel worthless, and that you need an entire kingdom to rule to feel better about yourself. I can't give you power, or whatever it is you think I can." Darcy's hands began to tremble with her nerves. "It's kind of hard to hate your guts when I feel what it feels like to be you. You need a shitload of hugs, but I think I'm the only one on this planet willing to touch you…What I'm trying to say is…Hey this is kind of hard, talking to your back can you at least turn around?" Darcy said blushing and staring at her feet, bringing her hands to her sides as Loki turned around to face her. She glanced up and her heart raced as Loki's green eyes locked with hers, the quiet before a storm; she looked back down again.

"I need to get laid, and I'll barbeque all of the guys in my black book of booty calls. Fuck it." Gathering her nerves and bravery Darcy looked up at Loki's lips before closing her eyes and standing on her tip toes and placing her lips against his. Darcy moaned from the taste alone: licorice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and something wonderfully sweet.

The God of Mischief did not move, causing Darcy to pull away and open her eyes to look at him. The red of Loki's eyes burned brightly, but his face was a stoic mask.

"You would have a monster? A villain that tried to rule this world you cherish so much?" Loki's voice seemed weak with all of the emotions raging inside him. "I am Jotun."

And there were all of those feelings of self-loathing pouring from Loki right into her heart. Darcy brought a hand to Loki's face, tracing the rising marks of his blue flesh. "Why do I get the feeling that both of us are going to need therapy sooner than later?" Darcy chuckled weakly as her eyes began to water again.

She wanted to scream at fate for putting her in the position of healing a broken god, because that is what this would be: Darcy trying to put back some of the pieces of a psycho's heart with her body and a one night stand. She knew from the moment she experienced his existence through memories that she wouldn't be able to walk away. They both needed some relief. They both needed to feel anything but what they felt now.

'Someone better give me some type of humanitarian medal of honor or something.' Darcy thought, as she stood on her tip toes and used her hand to bend Loki's head down towards her. She pressed her lips against the coldness of Loki's forehead, then wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest in a gesture of tenderness that felt misplaced somehow. "You know how to hug don't you?" Darcy asked using her hands to pull the quiet god's arms around her, before placing her arms back around him. His lack of words was starting to worry her.

"If you've changed your mind about having sex with me…" Darcy didn't get to finish, as Loki created just enough space between them to crash his lips against hers.

Everything seemed to happen so fast.

The Flames covering Darcy expanded, catching all of the pews on fire.

Darcy's clothing and armor vanished, and Loki eased their bodies to the stone floor. Her flames engulfed both of them. The God of Lies hovered over her with a leg on either side of her thighs. Darcy's breath hitched when Loki's clothes vanished. She greedily trailed her eyes down his body from head to toe.

"I can change back to a more pleasing appearance." Loki's voice was husky with want, but Darcy noticed the uncertainty in his red eyes.

Darcy raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Y-you're the self-conscious one here? You're freaking built like a god…maybe that's because you are a god…but that's not the point. I am all soft and average."

Now it was Loki's turn to stare down at her with disbelief. "You are far from average."

Blushing, Darcy studied Loki's markings on his chest, before brushing her fingers along them and following the intricate patterns of dots and circles. "You know not all of us chicks are the same, you can't go around just assuming that all women would find you unattractive when you look like a Smurf." Darcy smirked. "I have a kinky streak and if you want to know just how turned on I am all you have to do is look down." Darcy said boldly, feeling more turned on than she thought she would.

Loki eyes trailed Darcy's body, stopping at the juncture between her thighs curiously.

"May I?" Loki asked swallowing, as he rested his hand atop the curly hair of Darcy's womanhood.

'Who would have thought the man who tried to take over her world would have bedroom manners?' Darcy thought amused. Darcy sat up, leaving her legs wide open as she grabbed Loki's hand and guided his long fingers to her opening before letting go. Loki touched the wet lips of her sex before plunging two fingers inside of her.

Darcy moaned wantonly and fell back down against the stone floor.

Loki closed his eyes and moaned from the feel of her warm and wet walls around his fingers as he thrust his long digits in and out of her repeatedly.

"You are wet." Loki groaned out.

Moaning uncontrollably Darcy tried to respond by saying "No shit Sherlock", but she was left speechless when Loki brought his lips to hers and kissed her. Loki trailed kisses all over Darcy's face before stopping next to her ear. "You are the most beautiful being in existence I have ever laid eyes upon my Darcy."

Darcy wanted to warn Loki against possessiveness since this was just a one time thing, but yet again he took away her power of speech. Loki thrust his wet and cold tongue into her ear while simultaneously thrusting his penis inside of her.

If she were to die now she'd die a very happy woman. Never in all of her adventures in sex land had she been filled so fully, and the way he moved his hips!

The church burned around them and Loki devoured Darcy like a man starved of the pleasures of flesh, pulling out and entering her roughly. Loki continued thrusting through Darcy's orgasms, changing the positions of their bodies whenever he came.

Darcy screamed in pleasure until her throat felt raw, as she was taken in more positions than she knew existed. Her body tingled from the friction. She sat atop the God of Mischief riding him cowgirl style as he squeezed her ample breast and played with her nipples.

"Loki!" Darcy cried out when an intense orgasm struck her. The sensations were too much, she felt like she was about to pass out. Loki flipped them over placing Darcy beneath him. Darcy marveled at the fact that no matter what position they changed to Loki's penis never left from inside of her.

"What was I born for?" Loki asked breathless, while not stopping his brutal pace.

Darcy stared into the red eyes of the god above her with half-lidded eyes noting the desperation and wildness in the eyes that stared down at her.

"No more." Darcy moaned when Loki began to move even faster.

"What. Was. I. Born. For?" Loki ground out, punctuating each word with a powerful thrust of his hips.

"Y-you were born to be King!" Darcy arched off the ground screaming as another orgasm was forced out of her.

Loki laughed madly. The red of his eyes seemed to get brighter with his manic glee. "Yes! And all of Asgard will be made to kneel before me." Loki brought a hand to Darcy's cheek and his eyes softened as he stared down at her tired eyes with a look of fondness on his face. "No one else will ever have you like this." Loki vowed, kissing her.

Darcy couldn't hold onto consciousness anymore, so she welcomed the darkness that claimed her senses from the all-consuming pleasure and pain.

 _Daughter of Dresleim, mother of light, benevolent queen, this world rests in peril. The ether will be taken by the viewer of stars. Darkness will ruin the tree. The despair will be great and Dresleim will descend into madness. May these prayers find throne upon your ears mother._


	6. Chapter 6

**Important Author's Note:** The previously posted chapters 6 and 7 were incomplete and out of order. So I am reposting the correct Chapters 6 and 7; which will make this story make a heck of a lot more sense. Darcy did not go directly to her other world after sleeping with Loki. The other chapters (6 and 7) were my rough drafts that were never meant to be posted.

Please read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, Thor, Captain America, etc.

"Holy hell, what was that?" Darcy groaned, remembering what sounded like thousands of voices coming together to speak at once. Darcy opened one eye that began to water and sting from the bright sunlight flittering in through the open window beside her bed. There was an IV drip to her right and looking at her hand she noticed that it was feeding whatever the hell that liquid was into her bloodstream. Sound seemed to come to her after she opened her other eye and she could clearly make out the beeps of other hospital equipment, except she wasn't in a hospital. If anything the room looked like a posh hotel suite that she couldn't afford on her non-existing salary.

"Miss Lewis you are awake. I shall alert Mr. Stark." A disembodied voice said.

"Who are you and where and I?" Darcy asked looking around for the owner of the voice.

"I am Jarvis miss Lewis, and you are currently located in an island condo of Mr. Stark."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Darcy's eyes widened when an image of a snarky rich bastard in a metal suite flashed through her mind. "You don't mean Stark as in I-work-for S.H.I.E.L.D-and-I-want-to-help-them-dissect-aliens Tony freaking Iron Man Stark do you?" Darcy asked, throwing the thick white covers off of her. She scrambled off the four poster bed so fast that she fell on her side and pulled a wire out from one of the machines, causing an alarm to sound.

"Shit!" Darcy cursed, as she yanked the IV and other wires from her body. She needed to escape. She needed to…wait a minute why wasn't anything on fire?

Pausing in her frantic pulling at wires Darcy stared at her normal non-flaming hands. "It worked." Darcy remembered the hot and wild god sex she had, with the God of Mischief himself with a smile on her face. "I'm normal again." Darcy wanted to get up and dance around the room, but frowned when she noticed that her body felt weak, and her legs didn't seem ready to support the rest of her. "What the hell?"

"Jarvis, where is she?" A familiar voice called out after the swooshing sound of automatic opening doors filled the room.

"Miss Lewis is currently on the floor." Jarvis responded.

Darcy stared from shinny expensive looking male shoes, and up tailored pants legs to a white button-down dress shirt, loose neck tie and then to the concerned gaze of one Tony Stark.

"Why can't I stand up? What has S.H.I.E.L.D done to me?" Darcy asked with accusation in her voice.

Tony raised both of his hands in a gesture of 'hey I'm innocent stop shooting me a death glare.' "Well this kind of thing happens when you haven't used the muscle in your legs for a little over half a year." Tony said.

Darcy's heartbeat faltered. "Come again? What do you mean half a freaking year?" Darcy's voice became high pitch with her fear. "Just what in the hell is going on?"

"Let me help you up kid." Stark looked as if he was about to tell her she was terminally ill or something.

"No thanks, I'm perfectly fine here on the floor. Now get to the part where you were about to tell me what the hell is going on." Darcy demanded frantically.

Tony combed his fingers through his hair and rolled his eyes. "Pepper should be the one here to handle this. I've never really been good with this type of thing. People say I can be a blunt unfeeling bastard." Tony took a deep breath and released it. He seemed to age in the short amount of seconds it took to let out the breath as he stared down at Darcy with a serious expression on his face.

"You remember when we first met in one of Fury's little desert rabbit holes?" Tony watched as Darcy nodded yes, before continuing. "I had Jarvis…he's the voice inside my suit...I had him analyze your unique heat signature, just encase you managed to escape. Thanks to my genius I would be able to track you down using a nifty little thermo-detection device I made when I was introduced to that relative of yours." Tony paced away from her giving her his back as he poured himself a drink from a mini bar she noticed for the first time.

'Ooh liquor I'm so going to need some of that.' Darcy thought, before thinking 'who in their right mind would place a mini bar in a patient's room?' As she watched Tony toss the brown liquid back and cough violently.

"Shit, that's the good stuff." Tony wheezed.

"I bet. What is that some type of brandy older than both our ages combined?" Darcy asked curiously, licking her lips. "I'm thirsty do you think I can get a shot of what you're having? You know, before you blow my mind with whatever has you looking like you're about to tell me something horrible." Darcy scooted closer to the bed and leaned her side against it.

Tony ignored her request.

"I didn't know what they were planning on doing to him. I didn't know that S.H.I.E.L.D was into dissecting aliens to see how they ticked. Hell, they left Thor in one piece." Tony filled the glass again, and walked over to the long white couch that took up half of the room. He sat down facing Darcy, nursing the glass in his hands. "When I met you, I couldn't shake the feeling that S.H.I.E.L.D hadn't given us the full story about you. So I did some unappreciated hacking, and boy was Fury pissed when he found out." Tony smirked. "Thought he might have a coronary, was kind of disappointed when he didn't."

"I might have a coronary if you don't give me something to keep me from slapping you." Any other time Darcy would have found herself smiling at the humor and snarky banter of the man across from her, but she needed liquor and answers and she needed them now.

"You do know that what you just said didn't make any sense? Anything I give you could be used to slap me, and since I don't consider myself a masochist, how about you sit there like a good ex-blow torch and let me try to break this to you as gently as possible." Tony sent her a look as if he was scolding a child.

"Those people who said you were an insensitive prick? They were right." Darcy said crossing her arms under her ample breast.

"Very funny squirt, now hush." Tony sat his glass down heavy on the mahogany coffee table in front of him, and leaned back covering his eyes with his hand. "When I followed your heat signature I found you naked and comatose, with the sick bastard who threw me out of a window equally naked and comatose besides you." Tony sighed and slid his hand down his face, as he stared at the florescent ceiling lights. "I'm hoping that he wasn't the one whose responsible for this."

"You mean Loki?" Darcy asked curiously.

"You're on first name basis with that sadistic bastard?" Tony groaned. "I really should tell Fury."

"Where is he?" Darcy felt a chill run up her spine, and she visibly shivered.

"Him, I did hand over to S.H.E.I.L.D, after I hid you." Tony said.

Darcy felt her heart stop. What would S.H.E.I.L.D do to Loki? Thor wouldn't let them dissect his brother would he? Darcy couldn't understand why she felt so much concern over Loki's welfare all of a sudden, but more importantly she didn't get why someone who worked for S.H.E.I.L.D would want to help her.

"Why did you save me and not him?" Darcy asked shocked at the venomous way the words came out of her own mouth.

Tony sat up and stared curiously at her.

"Are you and Reindeer games an item? If so, then holy fuck what were you thinking?" Tony said dramatically jumping up from the sofa and walking over to the minibar without his glass.

Darcy attempted to pull herself up by grabbing hold of the bed beside her. Tony noticed and rushed over, jumping over the couch to awkwardly dip and lift her bridal style before hastily depositing her on the bed and combing his fingers through his hair as if he was nervous and frustrated.

"This is the best bed I've ever lain in. You should seriously let me keep this. Consider it charity." Darcy sighed in comfort.

"It's yours." Tony said distractedly.

Opening her tired eyes, Darcy sent the genius a concerned look. He looked as if he wanted to say something important but wasn't sure how, and Darcy found herself suddenly thinking the worse. "Am I about to die or something? You look like you're about to tell me my time is up." Darcy asked laughing nervously to try to ease the tension that settled in the room.

Tony froze in his pacing. "Was it consensual?"

Some of the pieces of the puzzle that was Darcy's time in the Playboy's presence begin to click together. Darcy didn't know what to feel. He thought Loki had forced himself on her. "Is that why you're going all worried mother hen on me? Trust me, I wanted it…convincing him that he wanted it too took some time. You wouldn't think that someone who seemed so full of themselves would be so self-conscious." Darcy waved a hand through the air as if that was all behind her.

Paling even more, Tony sat down at the feet of Darcy's bed and studied her.

"Do you know I have anxiety attacks every time I think of aliens? Going from one moment thinking that life is simple and easy to explain to discovering that there are beings with toys more advanced and powerful than mine; that kind of shit really screws with a man's ego and mental health." "You and Thor look completely human, but you're not. How many people out there are just aliens in disguise?"

Darcy used her arms to sit up. "I'm not an alien. I was born and raised on Earth, whatever the whole Darcy on fire thing was, can be blamed on my great-grandfather. Speaking of the nut, where is he?" Darcy asked, wondering if it would be weird to put a hand on the shoulder of man who gave her a bed. He looked like he needed it. "Never mind I don't need to know."

"No one knows, not even S.H.E.I.L.D. Darius did a lot of damage, and there are a lot of people who want to hang you in his place kid. If I find him, I can't say I won't kill him for what he did to a friend of mine." Tony gritted his teeth in anger.

When the emotions began to flow from Tony to her she knew that sleeping with Loki hadn't been a cure-all.

"What did he do?" Darcy gripped the sheets, not sure how much of the anger she felt towards Darius was hers or Stark's.

The doors to Darcy's room opened and a rage filled man who looked vaguely familiar to Darcy burst into the room clutching the trigger of a crossbow he held aimed at her. Loki's memories raced across her mind, and Darcy knew more than she wanted to about the man, and she could guess who the 'she' Darius had hurt was.

"Why do you care? You helped him escape!" Hawkeye yelled.

Tony jumped up from his spot to cross to the other side of the bed and stand with his body blocking Barton's sight of Darcy.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you to wait outside? You saw the videos, she was a pawn. What happened to Natasha isn't her fault. She can't handle the stress you're trying to dump on her right now."

"You expect me to give a fuck about what she can handle? She's as much a villain as Darius. For fuck's sake you heard her say she willingly had sex with the bastard that took control of my mind and tried to destroy the world, and now she's carrying the spawns of Satan himself!" Barton yelled.

All sound seemed to stop around her as Darcy rested a hand on her stomach and noticed more than a slight bump there. Eyes widening in horror, Darcy lifted up the grey sweat shirt someone had put on her when she had been in a comma and her breath hitched as she brought a hand to her mouth.

"No fucking way." How hadn't she noticed that she was pregnant the moment she woke up? Hadn't Tony said that she had been in a coma for half a year? How could she be six months pregnant? Shouldn't her stomach be bigger than half a basketball? Can pregnancies withstand comas?

"No." Darcy voice was louder this time. What was meant to be a one nightstand with the God of Mischief to make her normal again, had become a pregnancy.

"This is a crazy dream and I want to wake up now. This isn't funny." Darcy could feel the hysterics setting in.

"Barton put your weapon down now."

Darcy's watering eyes went to the new guest in her room. Captain America now stood with a hand resting on the shoulder of the man who seemed to want to impale her with an arrow, and Darcy knew that Tony had lied.

"You lying bastard!" Darcy screamed at the back of Tony as she threw a pillow at his head.

"Miss Lewis, Mr. Stark did not lie to you when he said he didn't inform S.H.E.I.L.D of your whereabouts. We are the Avengers."

"Robin hood over there works for S.H.I.E.L.D." Darcy grabbed another pillow, prepared to use it to escape somehow. Tony, who had turned around when the pillow hit the back of his head, raised an eyebrow, as if asking 'Really, a pillow?'

"Hawkeye is here as an Avenger and you are here in hopes that you'll offer us your assistance." Captain America gave her a sympathetic look. "We are aware of your condition and I assure you that no harm will come to you or your-" Captain America trailed off noticing the pained look on Darcy's face.

"Hey kid, you don't look so well." Tony noted.

Darcy half- sobbed half- growled. "Barton loves her and he wants to kill me, he's desperate, she's dying." Darcy locked eyes with Hawkeye who seemed even angrier.

"Get the fuck out of my head!" Hawkeye yelled, advancing on her, until Captain American grabbed his shoulder again.

"Stop broadcasting and take me to her you whining asshole!" Darcy yelled back, silencing everyone in the room.

"Does S.H.E.I.L.D. still have Black Widow Tony?" Captain America turned to face his fuming teammate.

"A friend of mine stole her right from under Fury's nose. She's eight rooms down the hall." Tony responded somberly as Hawkeye stormed out of the room.

Darcy sighed and leaned back against the plush pillows of her bed.

"How do you know it's not gas or constipation? What makes you think I'm pregnant?" Darcy stared up at the florescent lights of her room feeling exhausted. The men in her life were dramatic.

"We have a thing called science, which allows us to run certain test to tell these sort of things. Aren't you a science major kid?" Tony asked casually.

"Political science... Did you hack into my life story?" Darcy mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Miss Lewis, should we come back later, when you are more rested?" Captain America asked, lowering his voice as if he thought she were asleep already.

Darcy cracked one eye open. "Natasha…Black Widow was she the woman with the red hair who threatened to shoot rusty bucket in the mouth?"

"My suit does not rust." Tony said sounding mock offended.

"Well then you need to seriously reconsider the name Iron Man since Iron rusts." Darcy snapped.

"I would say that somebody is on her period, but we all know that can't be true." Tony retorted back.

"Ha. Ha. Fuck you." Darcy tiredly threw her legs over the side of the bed.

"I banged a pregnant chick once. It was an experience to say the least. Though something tells me your deranged boy toy would try to throw me out of a window again."

"If you keep talking I might throw you out of a window." Darcy fell back onto the bed when she tried to get up and sent a glare at the ceiling for her sudden weakness.

"You tease." Tony's growing smirk faltered when he saw how tired his new verbal sparring partner was.

"Where are you going?" Captain America asked noticing Darcy's struggle to get up.

"To find Darius so I can kill him myself, grab a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee, shove an arrow up Robin Hood's ass, and go see the Black Widow." Darcy grumbled.

"Miss, seeing as you are expecting I don't think it is such a good idea for you to chase after a wanted criminal." Captain America said sounding worried.

"Who said anything about chasing him?" Darcy lifted her ring bearing hand up to eye level and stared at the gold ring on her index finger, before closing her eyes in concentration.

'I know this piece of junk allow you an all access pass to my thoughts Darius. Where in the hell are you, and what have you done?' Darcy thought, focusing on contacting her great grandfather. Minutes ticked by and Darcy realized that she was being ignored.

"Is that a promise ring from antler boy?" Tony asked, hopping onto the bed besides Darcy like he owned it still and staring at her ring curiously.

"You're like a curious three year old you know that?" Darcy asked bringing her hand down to rest on her stomach.

"Pepper thinks so too." Tony mumbled frowning before staring down at Darcy curiously.

"You seem to be handling the news of being knocked up by a mass-murdering alien well." Tony noted.

Darcy scoffed putting her arm down at her side. "Trust me, I'm screaming on the inside. This calm façade is all a lie, now shut up and have Boy Wonder over there grab my coffee and cheeseburger while you take me to see Black Widow…killing Darius is going to have to wait." Darcy propped herself up on her elbows and locked eyes with the engineering genius. They continued their staring contest for a few seconds until the Playboy billionaire gave Darcy a serious look.

"That can't be a chastity ring, seeing as how that ship has sailed, and Reindeer games doesn't seem like marrying type. You said you wouldn't have to chase down Darius and then you looked at your ring. What does the ring have to do with him? Will he come here looking for it or something kid?" Tony asked, causing Darcy's eyes to widen in shock and awe.

"Well damn, you're like a real life freaking Sherlock Holmes!" Darcy said impressed with everything the billionaire was able to deduce. "Quick guess my bra size!" Darcy sat up fully and bounced excitedly on the bed with as much energy as she could muster. Humor and verbal sparring was what she needed so she could ignore the idea of a life growing inside of her, a life that she happened to have created with a man that was just supposed to be a simple means to an end, but ended up being an unwanted baby daddy.

Tony's eyes flickered down to her breast and then back up to meet her eyes. "They're a 32 DD give or take a little padding." "Nice try at changing the subject though, how did you know I was a breast man?"

Darcy laughed. "Wrong! And you're not just a breast man you're a everything-on-a-woman's-body-but-her-brain kind of man. So tell me where do you keep your harem of well-endowed bimbos, and will I be allowed an interview for membership into the club? I'm going to need a sugar daddy with a warehouse of comfortable beds like these."

Captain America made a scandalized sound in the background that went unnoticed by the two on the bed.

Tony actually smiled. "Sorry open enrollment is in three months you'll have to wait."

Captain America cleared his throat loudly. "Ah, Miss Lewis, I think I'll go find you that grilled cheese sandwich and hot cocoa."

Darcy glanced at Captain America to find the poor man a shade of red. "I thought I said cheeseburger and a coffee!" Darcy yelled as Captain America quickly left the room.

"You'll have to forgive his sensitive virginal ears." Tony said smirking. "He's a work in progress." When Tony looked back at Darcy she was staring at her golden ring, as if she waiting for something to happen.

Darcy didn't really know the man besides her that well, but she found herself wanting to tell him about her ring and how it linked her to Darius. Tony Stark kind of reminded her of herself, if she was an incredibly handsome middle-aged flirtatious billionaire. Tony handled stressful situations and unwanted emotions with humor and snarky backtalk. Even with their verbal dancing, she could feel his real emotions behind the humor. The anger, anxiety, fatigue and stress hung out inside of him like old friends. She had wanted to know if she could trust him, but she had trusted a man named the God of lies and mischief with her body and life so what harm could trusting someone with a much saner title be? Hell Jane trusted Thor even when he looked like a homeless dude.

Where were Thor and Jane anyway? Had they given up trying to find her?

"On the news when Loki had tried to take over the world I saw you and your band of merry men fighting alongside Thor. So you must know him right?" Darcy asked not looking away from her ring as she played with it on her finger, turning it this way and that.

Tony scoffed. "Goldilocks tried to fry me, and bash my skull in…but yeah we met."

"Has Thor been here or someone by the name of Jane or Eric looking for me?"

"Your location is on a need to know basis and the less people that know, the less of a chance a mean and angry one eyed man with a black trench coat hauling you away."

"Why wouldn't Thor be told where I am? Isn't he more trustworthy than Hawkeye?" Darcy asked meeting Tony's gaze.

"Thor isn't the most discreet person when it comes to travel. Lightening, thunder, beams of light and crop circles; those are all on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar now that Reindeer Games has been found back on earth. If he comes here then you'll have to go somewhere else." "If it makes you feel better he did stop by Stark tower when I was there. He had a hot little brunette with him."

'So they have been looking for me.' The thought made Darcy's lips tip upward in a small smile. "I guess since you've given me this awesome bed and kept me from being dissected while I was in a coma; you're good people Rusty."

"Call me Tony." Tony said with irritation in his voice at the rusty remark.

"Well then call me Darcy. Something tells me that this is the start of a beautiful relationship between me and your bank account. I-" Darcy gasped as a hot rush of energy poured from the ring and rushed around her body. Her eyes widened in panic as the familiar pull of teleportation started. Darius was using his stupid ring to kidnap her again. Well she'd be damned if she let that happen.

Darcy grabbed a hold of Tony's hand and held tight.

"Darius is trying to freaking kidnap me again, by using his stupid ring that won't come off of my finger." Darcy groaned as the sensation intensified the harder she tried to fight it.

Tony frowned. "Kidnap you how? Jarvis ready my suit. How exactly is he trying to kidnap you? This place is like Fort Knox." Tony cringed as Darcy tightened her hold on him.

"I can teleport, and he can force me to teleport against my will to wherever he is. If you want to fix whatever he did to Black Widow you'll get your chance to drag his sorry ass here in a few minutes." Darcy began to sweat and exhale and inhale rapidly. "The ring won't come off!" Darcy yelled as Tony attempted to pull the ring off of her finger. "If you want to capture him tell Harvest or Jarvis, whatever his damn name is to get anyone who wants to kick Darius's ass in this room now, and to grab a hold of me, because we're going for a ride."

"Jarvis you heard her."

"Yes sir, they are on their way."

Darcy gasped again.

"What's happening now?" Tony asked sounding anxious. "Jarvis where is that damn suit?"

"It is on its way sir." Jarvis responded.

Darcy's eyes watered. The truth she had wanted to ignore had just issued her a sound kick in the stomach. "It kicked me, the baby just kicked me." Darcy said in disbelief.

"When my suit comes you're going to have to let go of my hand, but I want you to grab hold of any part of me that's covered in metal as soon as you can you hear me?" Tony told Darcy seriously as he stood up on the bed while still holding Darcy's hand.

Shaking her head yes, Darcy used her free hand to rest it on her stomach and feel the kicks coming from inside her against her hand. It was like the baby could feel her distress and was panicking because she was.

"Empathy." Darcy whispered. The baby must have inherited her Dresleim abilities. With that thought in mind, Darcy began to take deep breaths trying to calm herself and the growing being inside of her. When that didn't work she began to hum one of her favorite songs: "A Whole New World" from her favorite Disney movie Aladdin.

The doors to the room swished open and Darcy felt Tony tense.

"What's going on?" Hawkeye's voice asked.

"Jarvis told us to gear up and get here as soon as possible."

"I'm about to be teleported against my will to wherever Darius is. So if you want to kick his sorry ass as much as I do grab a hold of me and don't let go." Darcy explained.

Darcy grimaced as Hawkeye roughly grabbed the wrist of the hand that had been resting on her stomach. She opened her mouth preparing to tell arrow boy were to shove one of his arrows, but was interrupted.

"Teleportation?" Captain America asked walking over to the bed.

"Yes I can teleport grab on." Darcy muttered, trying to stall the inevitable. "He's winning and it hurts." Darcy whimpered. "The baby." Darcy breathed worried.

The doors swooshed open again. "Here's my suit." Tony announced. "Let go!" Tony ordered and as Darcy let go she began to notice the familiar swirling of rainbow lights gathering around her.

"Now!" Darcy shouted.

"Shit, come on." Tony yelled at his suit, as each piece attached to a part of his body, the helmet was last.

Just as the rainbow hued lights engulfed Captain America and Hawkeye, Tony reached down and grabbed the one part of her that wasn't transparent, her hair.

With Hawkeye painfully holding her wrist, Captain America gently holding her ankle and Tony's mental finger's clumsily entangled in her hair they teleported.

Going through the dark rainbow swirly-ness of teleportation seemed different with other people attached to her and a bun in her oven. It felt suffocating somehow, like the process was longer and they'd be falling through the rainbow swirly darkness for eternity.

Even with three superheroes at her side she somehow felt venerable, like they wouldn't be enough for whatever awaited them when they reached their destination. Darcy couldn't believe it, but she actually missed her kick ass armor and flames, because at least if she had those things she could keep herself and the life inside of her safe. She didn't even have her Taser.

The rainbow lights and darkness faded away and Darcy could feel wind rushing around her, and they were falling. She heard Iron man yell "Holy shit!" and she bent her head to look down, and wish she hadn't.

They were above what looked like…Stonehenge, free falling in the air.

What in the hell was wrong with her great grandfather, was he trying to kill her? Didn't he know she didn't have her fire powers anymore?

Darcy felt Tony quickly release his hold on her hair and then felt the other two men holding onto her let go. Tony gently slid his arms under her to hold her bride-style, and Darcy watched as Tony maneuvered so Captain America and Hawkeye could each wrap an arm around his neck.

The closer they got to the ground Darcy could make out two figures standing near the stone pillars looking up at them. One she could clearly tell was Darius the other looked like a woman.

Tony landed a safe distance from a frowning Darius, and a calm looking pale woman with thick curly red hair wearing armor similar to what Darcy's ring had put her in, except her armor was a copper color.

Captain America and Hawkeye detached themselves from Tony and stood beside him. Captain America pulled his shield from his back and held it ready to attack. Hawkeye calmly studied the pair across from them.

"You alright?" Tony asked.

Darcy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stop the erratic rhythm of her heart.

"As alright as a person who was almost pancaked could be." Darcy responded dryly.

"Dearest!" Darius called, his voice sounding concerned.

"Where is the Jotun who you gave your flame?" Darius asked walking closer with the woman at his side matching his steps.

"He's currently incarcerated, and I'm not your dearest, so drop it." Darcy replied.

The red-headed woman beside her great grandfather fell to her knees and crossed her arms over her chest. She stared at Darcy with a look on her face similar to a groupie or a fan girl that was finally facing their idol.

"My queen, the prayers of our people may your ears they meet. I am Ambee born off world and servant of your family."

"W-what?" Darcy asked, looking around for the queen of Asgard or somebody who was actual royalty. "You mean me?" Darcy asked pointing to herself.

"Yes my queen." Ambee said in an accent that sounded vaguely Australian.

"Dearest you must give her permission to rise from her knees." Darius said, frown still present as he eyed the men around her.

"Um, rise?" When Darcy said it, it came out as a question.

"I didn't know you were a queen. You can buy your own super plush bed." Tony said.

"You bastard." Hawkeye's angry accusatory voice pierced the air.

"Ah, the mortal from Natasha's memories."

"What did you do to her!?" Hawkeye shook with barely contained rage.

"I fed on her." Darius answered simply as if he wasn't talking about something as important as someone's life.

"Put me down." Darcy said feeling her blood boil in anger.

Tony carefully placed her on her feet, and when she turned to face Darius and Ambee, Ambee gasped.

"By the light! You are with child by a Jotun." Darius exclaimed in surprise.

Darcy ignored the comment about her current state and gave Darius a look of horror and disgust. "Y-you fed on her? Like Hannibal style with Fava beans ate her?"

"She's in a comma." Captain America answered seriously.

"I merely fed on her emotions, memories and life force. So much hatred, sadness, and despair." Darius licked his lips.

"You monster." Hawkeye raised his crossbow.

"Can you undo what you did to her?" Darcy asked still feeling horrified.

"I cannot; however a queen of Dresleim can." Darius held Darcy's gaze.

Hawkeye grabbed Darcy's wrist. "You can undo what he did to Natasha, why didn't you? We have to go back." Hawkeye's grip tightened on her wrist, as his eyes pleaded with her.

Darcy winced from the pain, which didn't go unnoticed by the people around her.

"Hey there Hawkeye, careful." Tony said prying Hawkeye's hand from her wrist.

"Hawkeye that is no way to treat a woman, especially one in her condition."

"My queen I wish to act in your defense."

Darcy looked at Ambee to find that she had a ball of crackling blue energy in her palm ready to throw it at Hawkeye.

"I'm good. The man is on edge. Wouldn't you be if someone you cared about had their memories, life force, and emotions screwed with?" Darcy asked angrily. "How do I undo what you did to her?"

"You accept your place as our queen." Darius said looking pleased.

"I never said that." Darcy frowned.

"You cannot do anything for the mortal if you do not acknowledge that you are queen, and that you are Dresleim. If you do not fully accept your place you are no good to anyone. Denounce your humanity." Darius spoke with a firmness to his voice that brokered no argument.

Tightening her fist Darcy shoulder's shook with her anger. "I was born here on Earth, I grew up here. I am an IPod loving, coffee drinking, human damn it!" Darcy yelled.

"Our queen is in denial of her birth rite. It is as the prophecies said it would be." Ambee spoke softly, staring at Darcy sadly.

"And here you stand gazing upon me as if I am a great villain. You declare how proud you are to be a human; yet you would stand by and let a human die because of your selfishness ? Lift the veil that lays over your eyes my dearest great granddaughter! For now you are blind." Darius spoke to Darcy as if he stood at a podium and wanted to rally a nation.

Darcy held her head down and probed at the emotions around her.

Hawkeye felt frenzied and was close to doing something irrational and stupid, he thought she was selfish.

Captain America admired her loyalty to the human race, and her determination, though he worried about the state of his redheaded teammate.

"It's your choice kid no one's forcing you to do what this bastard wants. If you want to walk away the bed is still yours." Tony whispered to her, but his whisper might as well have been a shout as quiet as it was around them.

Darcy could feel Tony's honesty and his worry. He worried about Black widow and he worried about her, even though he didn't really know her.

'Maybe I am being stupid and selfish. If all it takes to save someone's life is to accept what everyone keeps telling me I am, why can't I do it?' Being human wasn't about just looking human to Darcy it was about living on earth and growing up believing that you're human for twenty something years. How could she give that up? How could she denounce that?'

She thought of how she would feel if she was in Hawkeye's place. If it was someone she cared about sucked dry of the things that made them, them. What if it was her father, mother, Jane, Thor, or Eric? She'd be angry she'd think she was being a selfish coldhearted bitch with a capital 'B'.

"What would happen to me if I did what you wanted?" Darcy asked looking at the two Dresleims before her.

"You would go to our home world, and with sword in hand claim your thrown and light the skies of Dresleim as our queen." Ambee answered.

Darcy's breath hitched. 'They wanted her to leave Earth and go to some alien world and live there?' "Could I ever come back?" Darcy asked weakly.

"I do not know." Ambee answered.

Darcy looked to Darius.

"Only under dire circumstances where what happens here endangers our world." Darius said.

"So never." Darcy sighed.

"What would happen to my baby?" Darcy asked rubbing her tummy with her hands.

"I do not know if a child that is Dresleim and Jotun will be able to survive on our world once born." Darius answered. "Jotun are notoriously cold world dwellers. Your child's survival rests in how Dresleim they will be."

So not only did they want her to abandon Earth, they wanted her to risk losing her baby.

"How long does Black Widow have to live?" Darcy asked.

"Three days at the most, and two at the least." Captain America answered somberly.

"You're going to take the chance that your kid will die once they're born?" Tony asked sounding incredulous.

"Will I have to leave right away?" Darcy side glanced at Hawkeye as his anger towards her seemed to lessen at the news of the price she would have to pay to save a life.

"After you restore the mortal to full health, which will take two days." Darius answered.

Darcy wiped her eyes and put on a shaky smile.

"So what do I need to do to heal Natasha?"

"You have an audience. Announce that you are queen of Dresleim and answerer of the prayers of your people and that you denounce your humanity and as a gift to the people of this world you will heal the mortal Natasha." Darius said.

"You must stand with your back to Stonehenge and facing us when you declare it." Ambee said.

Darcy made to do as they said but was held back by Tony's arm on her shoulder.

"How do we know we can trust anything you've just told us?" Tony asked.

"If you cannot trust us, trust our queen." Ambee said.

"They're not lying. I can feel when people lie." Darcy said.

"Hawkeye we all care about Black Widow, but asking someone to give up their life and child…" Captain America said, moving to block Darcy's path.

"I agree with boy scout. We save people, not offer them up as sacrificial lambs." Tony said quickly.

If only they knew that Darcy didn't plan to be on Dresleim anytime soon. Even Darcy wasn't foolish enough to just hand the reigns of her life over without a fight. She had a plan. It was a quick and last minute plan that she would probably regret later, but a plan nonetheless.

She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even been awake long enough to enjoy being normal again, and here she was about to become super Darcy again of her own freewill.

Closing her eyes, Darcy concentrated on making the swirl of rainbow colors appear so she could teleport away from her rag tag team of knights in shining armor…well excluding Hawkeye. She just needed to get Tony's hand off of her shoulder.

Feeling the familiar falling sensation of teleportation, Darcy ducked down quickly breaking contact with Tony's hand before teleporting to stand with her back to Stonehenge, and a good amount of distance away from the Avengers, Darius, and Ambee.

Ambee and Darius turned to face her, and Darcy watched them nervously, she briefly wondered where security was or a lone tourist, before focusing on the task at hand.

She had to declare herself queen of a world she had never been to, and deny wanting to have anything to do with being an Earthling and mean it.

Her father had a short stint in politics. Lying was half the battle, the other half being charisma.

'Damn it why hadn't I asked the God of Lies for some pointers on his specialty while he was fucking me senseless…oh yeah, I was being fucked senseless.' Darcy thought rolling her eyes. Well here goes nothing.

"I-I am Darcy Lewis, Queen of Dresleim and answerer of the prayers of the people!" Darcy tried to make her speech seem like something a politician would give, but she couldn't stop her voice from shaking. She watched as Iron Man and Captain America seemed ready to tackle her from what they no doubt considered the first step to a stupid mistake. Surprisingly Hawkeye seemed ready to stop her as well.

Darcy rolled her eyes again. 'Now they want to play heroics after guilt tripping me into wanting to save the life of a woman I only met once. Well sorry assholes, it's kind of a little too late for chivalry, especially from you Arrow Wonder. From now on the only one that I will be able to depend on is myself. I will be the knight in shining armor here. I will fight my own battles, and protect my kid. If being queen of a race of beings I hardly know shit about meant that I'll have the power to protect what matters… I'm beyond ready to take the crown. Now stand aside bitches!' Darcy became filled with determination after giving herself a mental pep talk fit for a football coach.

"The crown of flames!" Ambee exclaimed excitedly.

Darcy looked at her hands to see she was glowing and her nice and comfy clothes that she awoke in where being replaced by a glittering golden floor length gown that looked like something a princess would wear. The long sleeves of the gown end at the top of her hands become golden chains that dangled down to her knuckles. She felt some type of shoe form on her feet but wasn't able to see what it was from the dress being floor length. The golden dress flowed closely to her body showing off her curves and her baby bump. Something materialized atop her head and Darcy lifted her hand to find what felt like a jeweled crown there, and floating above the crown was her flame crown from before.

"You have accepted the truth in your heart." Darius stated seeming too smug for Darcy's taste, as if he knew everything would turn out like it did.

She wanted to roast him, but wondered why she wasn't on fire yet.

"What happened to my flames?" Darcy asked looking confused.

"Our queen is a granter of wishes. You gave your erratic flame to the Jotun, now you can wield your abilities more freely, and the Jotun wish is to be granted." Darius answered simply.

Darius words somehow gave Darcy a sinking feeling, and she felt the strangest urge to go see Loki. It couldn't be good for a being whose race where like frosty the snow man to be given control of an erratic flame. 'But he could touch me even when I was on fire.' Darcy thought, remembering how Loki seemed unbothered by her flames when everyone else was.

Squaring her shoulders Darcy did what she did best, hide her emotions behind talk. "Take a picture it'll last longer. What are we standing around her for we've got a woman to save!" Darcy marched up to Darius. "So how do we all teleport back to where Ironman has been hiding me away so I can save the day?"

"Ask the man of Iron to show you the exact room and location in his mind and focus on getting there." Ambee said.

When Darcy looked at Tony he was giving her a calculating look as if he could see through her false good mood. She smiled at him. "All aboard the Darcy express." Grabbing Tony's hand and Captain America's, she waited until Hawkeye grabbed the unusually quiet Man of Iron's shoulder. Ambee grabbed Captain American hand causing him to blush and Darius grabbed Ambee's other hand.

"You heard what Darius said Tony, just think of our destination, and I'll lock in on it." Darcy closed her eyes and when she saw the image of Natasha's room in Tony's mind and the memory how to get there they vanished in a swirl of rainbow light and darkness. Unknown to them the watchful gaze of the Guardian and gatekeeper of Asgard had been gazing upon them the entire time.

Heimdall turned his gaze to another part of Midgard where he heard his name being shouted. Thor stood, carrying his unconscious brother and surrounded by Midgardian armed warriors as he asked the gatekeeper to open the gate.

Heimdall dutifully opened the gate. He watched as the Midgardian warriors fired their weapons at Thor and Loki while they were encased in the beam of light. He knew once Thor placed his brother back in his prison, he would come to him, as he had been doing since the Midgardian…No Dresleim, named Darcy Lewis disappearance. This time Heimdall would have news.

"So what do I do now?" Darcy asked staring at Natasha worriedly as she sat up in her bed blankly staring ahead as if she was a lifeless doll. They had landed in her room, and the red headed assassin didn't even blank. Her skin was a deathly yellow color and her breath came out as wheezing. The sight made her slightly nauseous.

"I chose this mortal out of rage. Take from me what I took from her, and she will be your own to rebirth of flame if you must." Darius stated calmly.

Darcy tuned around to face her great-grandfather. "How does what you did to her make you any better than Shield?" Darcy asked not able to meet the eyes of the man her grandfather had missed.

"She will awaken in but days. To Natasha this would be not more than a dream my dear one. I will give you her memories and you must do the rest. Stay by her side, for two days. Cocoon her in flames and order her to be born again." Darius explained with an odd emotion in his eyes that resembled sympathy.

Darcy threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I don't even know what the hell that means! What the fuck am I, a moth?"

"The knowledge of what to do is within you Darcy. You are our queen now, you will know what to do once I give you Natasha's memories." Darius said furiously, as he placed a palm on Darcy's forehead.

A feeling of warmth traveled from Darius's palm.

Darius pulled away. "I will await you alongside Ambee outside of this room. I suggest everyone else take their leave, as we do not want to be present once the process begins."

"He's right, you guys should wait outside." Darcy frowned. "Holy crap I really do know what to do!" Darcy exclaimed as knowledge that she didn't have before flowed into her mind.

"You haven't eaten yet and going two days without food while you're knocked up kid, isn't good." Tony said sounding concerned.

"Not exactly, I've been eating…and if I told you what, you might freak, because I'm about to freak." Darcy said licking her lips at the delicious concoction of everyone's emotions, especially the Arrow guy.

"My lady has been feeding on emotions." Ambee answered sounding as worshipful as ever.

Darcy smirked. "Tony, is that disgust I'm tasting? Ewe."

Darcy's smirk fell once everyone left the room, Hawkeye pausing to stare at her and then at Black Widow before following everyone else out of the door.

Rubbing her stomach Darcy inhaled deeply and then exhaled. She was trying to ignore the memories of the assassin she promised to save. Trying to ignore the faces of Natasha's victims…some were children…she felt guilty, they were not supposed to be in that warehouse. Darcy closed her eyes as she eased herself down to lay beside Natasha.

A thought ran through her mind: "Does she deserve to live?" Darcy honestly didn't know because Natasha hadn't known either after all the people she had killed. Darcy turned Natasha's face to face her. Using a finger she pried Natasha's lips open and pressed her lips against the cold, clammy and colorless lips of the assassin. A golden light flowed from Darcy's mouth and into the Black Widow.

While two days pass by, Darcy glimpsed Natasha's memories as they poured from her and into the assassin. When the final memory appeared in Darcy's mind's eye she gasped and closed her mouth, breaking the connection as a sob tore through her. It wasn't like what she saw had never happened to Natasha before, but the fact that this time it had been someone related to Darcy that had did _that_ to the woman she would always feel intimately bonded too made her want to vomit. Darcy knew that she had to complete the process but she wanted to keep this memory and save Natasha from another nightmare, another memory of a violation she couldn't stop. Darius had raped Natasha, and Darcy would never forgive him.

Grabbing Natasha's face with both of her hands, Darcy opened her mouth and sobbed as the golden light of the last memory and the remainder of the assassin's life force flowed into her. Somehow touching Natasha like this without her permission felt like a violation. Darcy sat up and rolled off of the bed and fell on her hands and knees, vomiting. Arms and legs shaking, Darcy collapsed beside the puddle of her own vomit and stared up at the lights on the ceiling. For the first time in her life, Darcy wanted to kill someone. It felt as if Natasha had somehow imprinted herself on her person. She wanted to kill Darius.

A sharp pain like a blow to the stomach filled Darcy as she grabbed her belly and curled into a fetal position. Her vision blurred, but she recognized the sound of the door opening and hurried feet rushing in around her. Through her pain, she recognized Natasha's voice.

"I feel like a train hit me." Natasha groaned.

Darcy felt herself being lifted.

"Like hell we're letting you take her!" Tony yelled.

"Our queen has fulfilled her promise." Darius answered.

Darcy recognized the voice of the person holding her in their arms as Darius. She wanted to pummel him, but she felt too weak to move.

"Our queen is going into labor. She must be taken to our home world." Ambee answered.

"That kid isn't coming, it's only been six months." Tony yelled.

"Her body is not governed by human physiology." Ambee answered.

As if on cue, Darcy felt a gush of something pour out from between her legs, just as the familiar pull of teleportation started. Darcy turned her head to rest against Darius chest and vomited. 'Take that asshole.' Darcy thought groaning when the sensation of teleporting stopped.

"Ambee." Darius said. "I will not go any further than here. Our queen's world is no place for a male that knows the wonders of a world where men can rule. It is my grandest desire that the children our queen carries be born sons, so that one day we can meet."

"I will guard my queen with my life, and if she is to have sons I will guide them to you."

"Like hell." Darcy groaned, not liking where their conversation was going. She was in pain, covered in her own vomit, and in labor and they were making plans. Darcy opened her eyes trying to see where they were, but her blurry vision could only make out colors of grey and green. "Holy fucking shit!" Darcy yelled, arching in her grandfather's arms as a contraction that felt like a punch to the gut hit her. "Stop moving me." Darcy groaned as she felt herself being moved to the smaller arms of Ambee. She felt cold and hot all at once, like someone kept moving her every thirty minutes between a deep freezer and a volcano.

"Goodbye father, the bell chimes in your favor." Ambee said.

Darcy screamed as the pull of teleportation began "Stop!", it felt stronger.

"The Stonehenge amplifies our teleportation abilities, allowing us to achieve greater light years of distance and dimensional travel." Ambee explained.

Gritting her teeth and clenching her eyes closed against the pain that racked her body, Darcy wanted to slap someone, but settled for grabbing Ambee's hair and pulling. "Fuck, I-I'm splitting open." Darcy couldn't stop the tears that poured from her eyes in fear. "What if I die, and my kid lives…I don't even know what—"

"You will give birth to your babies on the home world. You are queen, you will live and I will serve you." Ambee said.

"Plural?" Darcy yelled.

"Yes."

Darcy could feel her consciousness slipping as her pain increased. "I-f, if I die…take, keep…them safe."

"I will protect your offspring with my life. I live to serve." Ambee answered.

Darcy's hand went slack in Ambee's hair.


	7. Chapter 7

When she was six, Darcy decided to boycott the light of the sun by hiding out in her parents cellar for three days straight, only emerging once she realized her Pop-tarts weren't a self sustainable food. The bright morning sunlight had hurt like a fist to the eye. This light was brighter than the sun, golden, and covered everything. She didn't know if her body existed or if there was anyone or anything other than light.

"Our lady awakes."

A symphony of voices assaulted Darcy's ears, and she wondered how what sounded like thousands of people could speak the same words simultaneously.

"She will claim the throne."

"Must she fight…she must."

"Where the fuck am I?" Darcy groaned.

"Home." The voices answered.

The word sparked something painful in Darcy's chest, and she gasped. 'Home. I should be home.' Darcy thought frantically, trying to remember that cellar in her memories and her parents faces. Her mother's face frowned in her memory, and Darcy felt the memory slipping away. She needed something to hold onto.

Flashback.

A blonde woman with shoulder length curled hair, wearing a dress and apron that looked like it belonged in the 1950's stared down at a child version of Darcy with a deep frown.

"Mom, I said I was sorry."

Darcy's mother crouched down and let her red manicured nails trail along her cheeks. The going off credits to "The Land Before Time", trailed down the tv behind Mrs. Lewis, catching Darcy's attention, as she wanted to look anywhere but at her mother's brown eyes.

"Baby." Mrs. Lewis crooned, forcing Darcy's attention back on her.

"I'm going to the store with Edna and Joe. Since you think its perfectly acceptable for you to pull another girls hair, you can forget about going Trick or Treating with your father when he comes home from work."

"Lisa pulled mine first." Darcy yelled.

"Be that as it may, there are better ways to handle your problems." Mrs. Lewis said standing to her full height and putting her hands on her hips. "Fighting is what men are for. Find someone else to fight your battles. You don't understand now Baby, because you're too young, but someday you'll be as big and pretty as mommy, and you'll want to stay pretty. Getting into fights will leave you black, blue, and broken." Mrs. Lewis said smiling sadly down at her daughter.

"But I won!" Darcy fumed.

Mrs. Lewis looked above Darcy's head at the the family picture frames nailed to the wall, with a distant look in her eyes.

"You won't win them all, and that's what I'm afraid of." Mrs. Lewis cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes, steeping away from Darcy to grab her purse from off the couch in front of the tv. She pulled out her compact mirror and checked her makeup, before placing the compact back in her purse.

"Be good." Mrs. Lewis left to go to the store and came back six months later remarried.

End Flashback

"She will fight when she comes about her senses, and gazes upon her children."

Darcy broke away from the painful memory, as a familiar singular voice met her ears. 'Ambee.' Darcy frowned. 'Pregnant…I'm suppose to be in labor.' Darcy thought panicking, as she remembered going into labor while traveling through the Stonehenge express. The bright light dimmed to a soft golden glow, and Darcy looked up to see a glass dome and beyond that a night sky filled with stars and four moons that seemed much closer than Earth's moon. She laid atop of a glorified concrete slab encrusted with bright glimmering gems of varying hues. Turning her head to her left Darcy's wide eyes met the smiling face of Darius's right hand woman, as naked as the day she was born. Any other time Darcy would have cracked a wise remark, but the fear and trepidation of not hearing the sound of crying or anyone but Ambee, caused Darcy's heart to race.

Darcy struggled to move the rest of her body to a sitting position and when she couldn't, Ambee raced over to her.

"May you calm yourself my queen. Your children are but meters away."

"Why can't I move."

"You have been in your slumber after such a difficult birth and—"

"Slumber?" Darcy asked feeling her irritation grow. "Who the fuck sleeps through labor? Tell me where my children are right now damn it!"

"The gravitational force on this world, is much different than Earth's my queen. You are Dresleim, may you will yourself to rise."

Darcy powered her limbs with her anger and sat up and threw her legs off of the slab to rest her bare feet against the dew laden grass covered floor.

"Where" Darcy growled as she stood to her full height, ignoring the white gown that was so form fitting she might as well have been naked. "Is my baby?"

"We are here mother."

Darcy froze.

"They have been beside you since birth my queen. They imprinted to you and took on a human appearance."

Darcy turned around, and met the fearful gaze of two children who looked to be seven years old. One was a girl and the other a boy. The girl had blue eyes and black hair and the boy had green eyes and brunette hair. The girl was taller than the boy by 3 inches as she hide behind him shyly while he clutched one of her trembling hands. A golden tiara adorned the head of the girl. The girl wore an elaborate golden gown, while the boy dressed in a worn brown tunic and brown pants. They both were barefoot.

They were too old to be her children, yet Darcy could clearly see the resemblance to herself and Loki in both of them. They both possessed bits and pieces of their parents features, and yet they were twins. "H-ow. W-who." Darcy was speechless as she backed away and collapsed to her knees crying.

"You slumbered for seven years as your body adapted and healed, preparing you for your coronation."

Darcy felt cheated. She had to leave her home, become queen to a race of people she never knew, and miss the birth of her children and the first seven years of their life. They didn't even know her. They probably hated her.

—

CH 7

Darcy's daughter held her hand out at the decorated slab of concrete and made a shooing motion with his hand, causing the concrete slab to glide to the other end of the glass dome. Darcy stared at her kids waiting for the words of hatred they might have. Her daughter whispered something to her son, causing him to frown.

"One was born in the image of Dresleim the other Jotun, but both immediately took your image."

"Jotun?" Darcy whispered, remembering when she slept with Loki…remembering his blue skin and red eyes. It didn't escape Darcy's notice that her daughter tried to hide more at the mention of Jotun.

"I did not bestow them with names, as that was not my place." Ambee said.

"Your place?" Darcy asked, breaking eye contact with her children as rage consumed her. Darcy's body became covered in flames, as her dressed vanished to be replaced with her golden armor. "You stole them away from me you bitch!" Darcy yelled, taking her rage out on Ambee, because she got to watch Darcy's children learn to walk, say their first words…they probably viewed Ambee as their mother. Holding out her hand, Darcy let her sword materialize and clenched the hilt so tight her hand hurt.

Ambee's eyes became alarmed, and she dropped to her knees and crossed her arms to form an "X" in front of her chest.

"If I have caused you harm my Queen please end me." Ambee said.

Darcy stabbed her sword into the ground next to Ambee's thigh causing the woman to flinch.

"Get out!" Darcy yelled balling her fist and trembling, while trying to control the urge to punch the woman trembling before her in the face.

"As you wish." Ambee said, scrambling to her feet and teleporting out of the room.

Darcy put her hands in her overgrown hair and pulled. If her son and daughter weren't afraid of her before they were probably traumatized by now. Darcy didn't feel like coping, because she didn't know how. She didn't know how to deal with kids, she had only been a child once and that didn't automatically give her a damn certification on children, especially her children. 'Oh my god! I went to sleep and woke up a mother. I'm a freaking mom!' Darcy thought, running her her seven years of uncut hair growth that reached just above her butt. There were braids in her hair. 'Someone has put little braids in my hair…and I am a freaking mother. I am a freaking mother." Darcy thought repeatedly feeling herself hyperventilate as she began to pace around. She stopped and turned to look at her kids, not sure what to say.

'Oh god, I'm just like my mother…I'm like that parent that went to the goddamn store and never came back.'

"Mother do you—" Darcy's son trailed off, looking at the ground. He seemed to debate what he wanted to say before continuing. "Do you not want us?"

Darcy immediately became assaulted with her children's emotions of sadness and fear, surprisingly she couldn't feel any hatred, and yet she felt her own heartbreak, because her son didn't want to meet her eyes.

"I thought you guys would hate my guts…I-I don't know anything about being a mother. I'm not-" Darcy's vision blurred through her tears. "I can't even talk, shit I'm fucking this up." Darcy covered her mouth at her swearing, and chuckled without humor. "I'm cursing around kids, my kids. Oh god, I'm so sorry." Darcy's heart broke even more when her daughter started to cry. "Can I hug you?" Darcy asked her two children, who both looked up at her as if she offered to buy them a toy store. Darcy could feel their sadness began. Her daughter ran from behind her son and launched herself at Darcy, quickly wrapping her arms around Darcy's hip and hugging the life out of her. Darcy wondered who she inherited her strong arms from, Darcy's son immediately followed, hugging Darcy's side, and she immediately felt love bloom in her chest. They were hers and Loki's, even if she missed so much of their lives, they were still hers, she just didn't know if she would ever get use to being somebody's mom. Darcy wrapped her arms around their shoulders, and noticed that she was still on fire, yet her children didn't seem affected.

"I wish Loki could see you two. We created some good looking kids together." Darcy said sniffling as she combed her hands through her children's hair. Both of their hair had a wavy texture.

"What are your names?" Darcy hiccuped pulling away and wiping at her eyes before holding her son's face in her hands and rubbing his tears away, she turned and repeated the motion with her daughter who smiled.

"You have not bestowed a name to us mother." Her son answered, still not staring directly in her eyes.

"Bestowed? Kid You sound just like Loki." Darcy said grinning as she thought how Loki might get a kick out of a mini version of himself. 'Or not.' Darcy frowned. 'I don't know what he'd like, we had a one night stand.'

"Mother you must come we have much to show you." Her daughter spoke softly, locking her eyes with Darcy and smiling shyly.

Darcy smiled back, but immediately frowned when her son still refused to meet her eyes.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Darcy asked smoothing her hand through her son's hair. At the question Darcy's daughter paused and walked back to gently grab ahold of her brother's hand.

"Her excitement." Darcy's son answered. "She is worried that she'll change in front of you, and you will know she is not Dresleim, and you like the others will scorn her."

"Brother, mother was addressing you." Darcy's daughter answered.

Darcy frowned. Someone was bullying her daughter. "Whose talking crap about you?" Darcy asked, looking around for other people only to find other large glass domes surrounding the one they were in. Darcy looked back at her daughter, and knelt to be eye level to her and grabbed her hand and her son's hand. Darcy looked from her son to her daughter frowning.

"I know we've just met and you probably don't trust me—"

"You are our mother, we trust you and we've known you since birth." Darcy's son answered, causing Darcy to choke back a grateful sob. Her children were turning out to be really cool.

"I want both of you to show me what you look like, if this is just a disguise. You've seen me lit up like a blow torch." Darcy waited as her daughter chewed on her bottom lip, before exhaling. With her daughter's exhale went her pale skin and blue eyes. Cautious red eyes, and dark blue ridged skin met Darcy's happy gaze.

"You're just as beautiful as Loki." Darcy said smiling, kissing her daughters forehead. "Your dad is blue too; though I like to think of him as a homicidal smurf." Darcy bit her lip, instantly regretting calling Loki homicidal in front of their kids. She didn't want them to hate their father. They can form their own decisions about him. She was going to make sure Loki didn't miss anymore years of his kids lives, if he wanted to see them that is.

"I cannot change here mother, the elders will kill me or force me to exile if I do." Darcy's son answered.

"Kill you?" Darcy's eyes widened. "Who?"

Darcy's daughter stood on her tip toes and whispered in her ear.

"He is male mother, men cannot rule."

Darcy hit her own forehead with her palm, dumbfounded at what she was hearing. She wondered what kind of backwards sexist planet she and her kids were on.

"I need a history lesson." Darcy groaned, feeling a headache forming.

"I am the first son of our yet to be coronated queen. The royal lineage belongs to my sister and not I. I am my sisters servant and guardian as I shall be yours mother." Darcy's son answered, falling to his knees and crossing his arms in front of his chest in an identical pose to Ambee.

Darcy's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed several times before her flames roared to life from her body, filling the entire room. Her son's rags and his refusal to meet her eyes, all made sense to her now.

"Who made those fucking reverse backwater sexist rules!?" Darcy yelled, standing her full height and pacing angrily, before spinning back around and crouching down to her son's level. She placed her hands on his arms.

"You are nobody's freaking house elf!" "You're the son of a bad ass Political Science major and a freaking Norse god, you serve no one unless you get a job in the customer service industry, that is totally cool, because you'll be getting a paycheck." Darcy softened her glare as she sensed her son's fear."You can look anyone in the eye and if they have something to say about it. Tell them to kiss your ass and come see me." Darcy lifted her son's chin. "If your mother and father are royalty, what does that make you?" Darcy asked seriously.

"The laws…" Darcy's son began.

"Are meant to be broken, now show me whose kid you are and look me in the eyes." Darcy smiled as her son smiled and brought his green eyes to meet Darcy's blue eyes. Darcy stood to her feet while using one hand to pull her son to his feet. She would be damned if anyone of her kids were going to develop an inferiority complex. She would not have her son and daughter grow up to have the relationship their father had with his brother.

"Can I still protect you mother and my sister?" Darcy's son asked frowning.

The corners of Darcy's mouth edged upward in a smile. "I'll keep you two safe, but when I can't its up to you to have each other's backs…" Darcy paused, as her thoughts became consumed with Loki. She wondered if he knew she had left Earth and that he was a father. They had both missed out on seven years of their children lives.

'What would he have wanted to name them? Did she even have a right to name them? Did they call each other anything other than sister and brother? What were their favorite foods or colors?'

"Mother?"

Darcy was broken from her thoughts by her daughter's questioning voice.

"This is our father, he's a Jotun like me?" Darcy's Daughter stared at the image of Loki with a child's longing for their parent that broke Darcy's heart.

Darcy watched as her son and daughter held hands, and her daughter waved her hand above their head at the center of the glass dome. The entire dome became a giant screen showing images of Loki. Images from Darcy's memories of him on Asgard and Earth, ones that she would not have wanted her children to see, especially the moment when they were conceived.

Darcy put a hand to her mouth and gasped in shock, as the image of Loki faded away and all her memories from as far back as she could remember to now flashed across the screen in rapid succession.

"We wanted to know more about you, and Ambee taught us how." Darcy's son said, turning his head over his shoulder to smile up at a crying Darcy, slowly raising his green eyes to meet hers."This is why you are not a stranger to us mother. When ever we wanted you to wake up and you would not, we watched your memories."

Darcy's eyes never looked away from the soundless movie of her life airing inside of the dome. Her children had dissected her above PG-13 rated life. Seen her at her worst. Watched from her perspective as she beat someone with a pipe when she was a child. Seen her taser Thor until he fell unconscious. Watched her failed relationships, one night stands, and walks of shame.

"We did not know what the names for Earth's technology was called, so Ambee watched with us and taught us." Darcy's daughter said excitedly. "What kind of songs did you hear on your Ipod? What do Poptarts taste like?"

Closing her eyes, Darcy tried to control her breathing and calm her mounting anger. She didn't want to lash out at her kids. Did they know, that watching her life without her permission was wrong? What they were watching was intimate and private and meant only for her to remember. This was wrong. She had just met them, they were apart of her and she loved them, but she wasn't ready to share this much, to be this open, this fast. They had pried from her mind, what she would have wanted to share with them as stories or jokes over the course of years. She didn't get to raise them, she didn't get to tell them about her life, or where she came from. What did they need her for. Why had she even woken up?

"Turn it off now!" Darcy demanded. She didn't want to open her eyes to check if they listened, instead she clenched her fist so tight that her nails cut into her palm as she walked to the other end of the dome and collapsed on the floor. Darcy pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in her knees. Rocking as much as she could in the fetal position on the ground, Darcy didn't care if her tears and snot were creating a puddle where her head met her knees. She didn't care if the ground opened up and swallowed her whole; she hoped that it would. She found a ring in an attic, became queen of a race of people she had never met, woke up from a comma months into her pregnancy, went into some type of fucked up slumber and woke up to her own children being seven years old, knowing everything about her…but raised by Darius's right hand woman.

Darcy screamed in anguish, as gut wrenching sobs tore from her.

Ambee and Darius had taken everything from her, and Darcy felt herself become consumed with a hatred so dark and deep that it frightened her. For the first time in her life, she honestly wanted to kill someone.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Thank you Canis Lupus Familiaris, Wiredawgman, RoseGlass, and Kit-Catty-Anon for your reviews. The feedback made me smile.

This chapter will be a bit on the short side. I want to update more frequently so the next few chapters will come faster, but they will be shorter.

CH 8

 **-Asgard: Seven years earlier -**

As the Gatekeeper of Asgard, Heimdall has seen many things throughout his existence: stars born from gold dusted nebulae, a race of people hunted to extinction in Alfheim (few knew other beings besides the Light elves once dwelled there), Thor Odinson vanished and returned, a star burning its last embers, Loki Odinson's various imprisonments, a quasar ceasing its rotation in the bowels of the universe. Heimdall has watched all of these things and considers them part of the natural working order of the universe. Never has he interfered with this order, unless that natural order presented an immediate threat to Asgard, or the Allfather himself requested his assistance.

With a stoic face and glimmering gold eyes Heimdall stared in the direction of Midgard, and watched with the same emotions he had once watched a galaxy born as he watched Loki Odinson's paramour, succumb to the strain of labor before vanishing in a flash of brilliant rainbow light. He tried to follow the odd woman and her hand maiden with his sight, but could not.

Feeling that he was no longer as solitary as he liked, Heimdall glanced towards the entrance of his quarters, to find Thor Odinson approaching him with troubled eyes and Mjonir clutched tightly in his hand. Thor was too late. The days spent trying to reason with his brother, and argue against the Allfather meant the son of Odin was moments late in saving the Dresleim from her fate.

"Heimdall." Thor announced.

"Odinson." Heimdall greeted.

"Are you aware of Lady Darcy's whereabouts on Midgard?" Thor asked.

"She has left my sight." Heimdall replied calmly.

"Left your sight?" Thor questioned confused.

"She is no longer on Midgard, Lady Lewis has been escorted to her world." Heimdall paused, weighing the outcome of telling Thor Odinson about Lady Lewis's condition. When he decided that revealing such information would not have an immediate affect on Asgard, or the Allfather he continued. "Lady Lewis is moments away from birthing the offspring of Loki Odinson on the world of the Dresleim."

The earth beneath their feet shook as Thor's grip on his hammer lessened, causing Mjonir to crash violently to the floor, leaving a small crater in its wake.

Thor closed the distance between himself and the Gatekeeper.

"Impossible!" Thor yelled.

"I do not lie Odinson."

"Lady Darcy is to be a mother…to my brother's children no less." Thor thought, his eyes wide in awe. Thor Spun around and grabbed his hammer. He had to inform his brother and Lady Jane. Thor paused, remembering that Lady Darcy was no longer on Midgard. He turned back to face Heimdall.

"Heimdall, is it not within your power to see this world of Dresleim and send me there so that I may retrieve Lady Darcy?" Thor asked.

"I never knew of the existence of such a realm, it is beyond even my sight."

Thor began to pace back and forth angrily as his red cape billowed behind him.

"Lady Jane and I were told by the man of Fury that she would remain in the custody of the Man of Iron, and the Captain of America." Thor explained. Pausing to look in the direction of the castle. "How can I tell my brother that he is to be a father, when he cannot be present at their birth or by the side of Lady Darcy?" Thor asked, remembering his brother's rage at being captured and separated from Lady Darcy. He had killed three Midgardians in the service of Shield, Thor had to drag his brother kicking, screaming, and muzzled from Midgard. To tell Loki this news in his current state would insight his madness. Lady Darcy had to know how unstable Loki was. If she had known why did she leave Midgard knowing she was to be the mother of his brother's children.

"Did Lady Darcy leave Midgard of her own will?" Thor asked, feeling conflicted. If Lady Darcy had chosen to leave without giving her farewells to Lady Jane, himself, or his brother…

"Lady Darcy exchanged her freedom to save the life of another." Heimdall answered.

"Who bartered this trade?" Thor questioned frowning.

"The male Dresleim and the Avengers." Heimdall stated, staring off in the distance towards Midgard, into the room of the arguing Avengers.

"Send me to Midgard." Thor ordered, as Thunder roared through the sky of Asgard.

—

Loki sat on the floor in the corner of his cell, holding a slab of obsidian in his shaking blue hands. Tears ran down his cheeks as his wide red eyes glowed with the intensity of his rage. He watched in disbelief as Darcy allowed herself to be manipulated by the emotions of a band of Midgardian fools and her great grandfather. She traded herself for the life of a woman that was beneath her and did not deserve to live, all at the insistence of two men he should have killed upon meeting: Darius and Barton. No. It wasn't just her life she traded, but that of their children! Loki was to be a father. Loki wanted to feel joy, but he knew what his children would be if they lived…Frost giants…and yet he could not bring himself to feel the same loathing he felt for his own being for his soon to be born children.

He thought he would feel stronger, more powerful after sleeping with the Dresleim…no…after sleeping with his Darcy, but all he felt was a deep longing to be near her and a rage so all consuming and deep that it threatened his hold on his sanity. His rage was directed at the fools who dared to trade her and his unborn children for the life of a woman that would be personally extinguished by his hands. Loki clenched his eyes closed tightly as his whole body began to tremble with his emotion. It took all of his self-control to not throw the obsidian slab in his hands against the wall on the opposite side of the room. But he wouldn't shatter his only way to see her. When he opened his eyes, a wave of magic burst from him, freezing all of the furniture in his prison on impact. Loki Vanished the Obsidian slab and stood screaming. He clawed, punched and kicked at the frozen belongings in his room, until he was surrounded by broken shards of frozen furniture. He tried to break through the containment charms placed on his cell by the Allfather, and when he could not, he began to slam his body against the glass of his cell.

"Allfather, you can not keep me here!" Loki yelled manically.

A guard cautiously walked passed Loki's cell keeping a wide berth.

Loki bared his teeth and growled at the guard, causing the man to jump back in fright, before he quickly walked away.

Loki summoned a spike of ice in his hand and threw it against the glass window of his cell. The spike of ice bounced against the glass and flew back towards Loki, stabbing him in his shoulder. He fell down to his knees breathing heavy.

Loki stared up, and flinched when he caught his own snarling, red-eyed, blue skinned reflection in the glass window of his cell. He clenched his teeth as he pulled the spike of ice from his shoulder and fell backwards. As he stared up at the white ceiling, he glamoured his appearance and his room, to make it seem as if his outburst had not occurred; leaving the blood pouring from his shoulder and staining the floor of his cell as the only evidence of his outburst.

He couldn't think clearly. He felt as if he was drowning.

"Was it a mistake?" Loki thought, breathing heavily while trying to force some semblance of clarity to return to his mind. The thought that his childhood fantasy based on a tale not many Asgardians knew had been a mistake caused fear to bloom in his chest. Sleeping with Darcy did not strengthen him. If anything, the act weakened his frail hold on his own mind. "I want her." He thought wide-eyed. There was something wrong with that thought. "I want power and nothing else." Loki wanted to believe his own lie. Sleeping with the Dresleim had weakened him, allowed him to be captured by Midgardians and dragged on a leash yet again by his brother to kneel before the Allfather. "I am to be a father." Loki spoke to the empty room as if whispering a great secret. "A father." The thought sobered him, enough to rise to a sitting position clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Staring down at the blood, Loki wondered if his children's death upon their birth might be the greatest mercy the fates could afford them. He loathed himself more in that moment than any moment he could remember, because he honestly hoped that they died for both their sakes and his. Everything that he or any frost giant touched would crumble, it was only a matter of time. Darcy would crumble because she was his. If she mothered their children she would merely contribute to speeding along the inevitable. Nowhere in the tales of Darcy's people was she able to conceive. The king never had heirs because the need was never there, meant she shouldn't have been able to reproduce. He had interpreted wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: This Chapter is still set back seven years ago. The next one or two chapters will also take place during the seven years Darcy spent sleeping.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Marvel or Disney or Fox...or whoever has the rights, right now.

"Did we just let that happen?" Tony asked the empty corrider, waiting for Jarvis to pick up Darcy's heat signature, as he paced back and forth outside of the Black Widow's makeshift hospital room. He was just as happy as everyone else gathered around a confused and alive Natasha, he was just irritated that everyone else thought what they had allowed…no…what they had let happen (allowing meant they had handed her over on a silver platter, and they didn't see it that way) was fine and peachy. "The greater good my ass." Tony mumbled, touching a spot on the wall to make the wall of Black Widow's room transparent. The Black Widow sat on her bed with her head in her hands, and Barton standing in front of her yelling. Captain America who had been sitting in a chair placed beside Natasha's bed quickly stood up and placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder, while giving Barton a stern look.

Tony scoffed. He didn't know Natasha as well as Katniss did, but he could surmise she wouldn't be too happy with letting a pregnant woman be kidnapped, while risking the lives of said pregnant woman's unborn children. They had made a mistake. He realized it the moment they landed at stonehenge. Take a empath and put her around Barton, that was a recipe for emotional manipulation. It was almost like Darius had known.

Darius, the man they had let just waltz away as if he didn't cause all of their post-Reindeer Games problems. They had been played with like pawns on a chess board. Darius had played them all, as if he knew that harming Natasha would somehow lead to Darcy doing what he wanted, but that was impossible. Wasn't it?

'Shit.' Tony thought, punching the wall and watching as the transparent flickered between being opaque and then transparent. The occupants of the room turned to look at him, as if just noticing that the wall was see through. Tony pulled his suit covered fist from the hole he created in the wall, causing the transparency of the wall to vanish completely. He didn't know what was fucking logical anymore. What an alien could do or couldn't do. Did Darius know the future, was he capable of mind control? Were they being controlled even now? Was anything even real?

The face of Tony's helmet opened, revealing his face covered in sweat, as his breathing increased and his vision blurred.

'I need to get some air.' Tony thought, staggering down the hall and ignoring the sound of the opening and closing door behind him.

"Stark, you alright?" Captain America asked pausing outside of the closed door to stare at Tony concerned.

"Am I alright?" Tony asked laughing humorlessly. "I'm great!" Tony yelled back trying to catch his breath.

Captain American ran past him. 'Good riddance'. Tony thought coughing and looking down at the tiled floor, trying to calm his racing heart, his eyes met the familiar boots of Captain America causing Tony to jerk his head up.

"You're not alright." Captain America said frowning. "Tony Breath." Captain America ordered, grabbing both of Tony's iron covered shoulders firmly.

"I'm doing that." Tony answered pulling away.

"You're hyperventilating."

"Sir." Jarvis's disembodied voice called out above their heads. "I cannot detect Miss Lewis's presence on Earth; however I did locate Mr. Darius at longitude-"

"Hey!" Tony shouted interrupting Jarvis. "Send the information to my suit."

"You need to see a doctor." Captain America said. "Hawkeye and I will go."

"Like hell you will." Tony responded.

"You are not in any shape to leave this building."

Tony straightened to his full height once his breathing calmed, and glared at Captain America. "You might get your kicks from calling yourself Captain America, but you aren't my Captain so step aside grandpa."

Steve lowered his arms to his side and returned Tony's glare. "Do you think I'm not upset over what happened? Do you think I was happy to let an innocent woman hand herself over to save one of us?" Captain America yelled. "I'm not, but it wasn't my choice. It wasn't any of our choices. Miss Lewis choice to save Black Widow, and all any of us could do, was respect her decision."

"She was pregnant." Tony said, gritting his teeth.

The anger seemed to drain out of Steve as he let his shoulder's droop. "I know." Steve answered, sighing. "The best we can do now, is bring the person responsible for all of this to justice."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, leant his back against a wall, and stared down the hall at the closed door to Natasha's room.

"And what is that exactly?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Steve stared in the direction that Tony was looking, before staring back at Tony.

"Is locking Darius up in a nice cozy cell justice? Do we hand him over to Shield to dissect? Or for once do we nip a problem in the bud before it comes back to bite us in the ass like Reindeer Games and his frequent visits to Earth."

Captain America frowned. "We can't be the judge, jury and executioner Stark. Everyone, even if we know they are guilty, deserves a fair trial and—"

"Do you believe any of the bullshit that comes out of your mouth? I have a newsflash for you Mr. Morality, prison isn't a rehabilitation camp. Criminals don't go in and come out model citizens, they just learn how to be better criminals."

—

"We both know in our line of work dying is a very real possibility." Natasha whispered, cradling her head in her hands and keeping her eyes closed against the brightness of the room. She didn't need to look to know that Barton was standing right in front of her, yelling at her to understand.

"And you know, that if it was the other way around that you would—"

"What, sacrifice a civilian's life to save yours? That's not what we do and you know it." Natasha squeezed her eyes tighter. She was developing a splitting headache.

"You would have did whatever you could to save me!" Barton knelt and put his hands on Black Widow's shoulders. "I couldn't stand back and watch you die. She wanted to save you."

"Nat look at me." Barton grabbed Natasha's hands and lowered them to rest in her lap. When Natasha opened her eyes to look at him they were watery.

"You of all people Barton know how much red I have in my ledger, how much blood I have on my hands. Next time, because trust me there will be a next time." Natasha laid down and closed her stinging eyes. "Let me die."

Black Widow waited until she heard the opening and closing of her door, and the sound of Barton walking down the hall. When she felt that she was alone she sat up and wiped at her eyes, before rubbing her thighs. Her legs felt numb from disuse and she knew she would need to rebuild the lost muscle mass in them and in other parts of her body before she found Darius. She would also need to report in to Fury sooner than later. Black Widow stared around the room she was in, instinctually analyzing the layout and items that could potentially be used as weapons should the need arise. She tried to ignore the odd feeling that something was missing, something crucial, but she couldn't. She remembered running into that room, seeing Darius's abdominal section held open with metal clamps as he lay prone on the operating table, while Darcy unstrapped him. She fired a warning shot trying to stop Darcy, but not wanting to shoot her unless she had too. Then Loki appeared, the lights went out and something hit her in the head. She remembered fading in and out of consciousness. At one point she felt her body lift from the ground and then she felt herself placed in a lap.

Bile rose in her throat as she remembered what Darius did to her, what he took from her. It had felt like she was burning alive, yet when she tried to scream no sound would come out. When she tried to fight him she couldn't move. There was just pain.

When she awoke in an unfamiliar room with Barton and Steve staring at her concerned, it took her a few moments to realize the pain had stopped. That she was free. She wanted to cry but she was trained to never cry unless it was needed to manipulate a target. So she settled for stoicism. She asked Barton how long she had been out. He told her half a year, she felt her perfect mask crack in the form of a large intact of air. Next she asked if they had captured Darius and returned him to Shield. When Steve told her no. She asked if they killed him. When Barton began to explain what happened and Steve interrupted him, telling him that maybe he should wait until Natasha was more rested. It took all of her self-control to not tell the Captain to leave. Thankfully Barton understood that she would want to be debriefed as soon as possible, and when he told her everything and explained that the same girl she had called a murderer and shot at had traded herself to save her she felt anger. Anger at not being able to protect herself. Then anger became guilt, and she didn't need anymore of that.

"Darcy Lewis." Natasha spoke the name to the empty room, as flashes of memories that didn't belong to her danced across her mind: The face of a frowning eight year old brunette haired girl staring at her bruised reflection in a puddle of rain water. 'Just another fight.' Black Widow thought. Remembering the incident like she had lived it, except she hadn't. Natasha brought her hand to her lips, feeling phantom lips against her own. Warmth and light had pulled her from the pain…and the smell of rainwater…Darcy smelt like rain. Natasha brought both of her hands before her eyes and stared at them confused. She didn't feel the same as before, there was somewhere she needed to be, but she didn't know where.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: We are still 7 Years in the past. Thank you for your reviews and favs.**

Darius stood outside of a abandoned apartment complex in England, feeling the emotions of various children running around and playing in the inside of the decrepit place, but beyond that was something impassioned with darkness and pulsating. Something that mocked the life force that gave birth to him. He exhaled. "Dark times indeed."

The rapid clinking of heels against concrete broke Darius from his musings. Darius looked to his right at the curvy figure of a woman wearing a black cloak, hood, and red heels. Her perfect red manicured nails tapped a rhythm against her swaying hips as she stopped beside him and stared up at the building.

"How could you lie to her with such ease?" The woman asked, her soft voice not hinting at an emotion other than intrigue.

Darius held out his arm, waiting for the disguised woman to wrap her arm around his, when she did, he teleported them both into a cabin in the middle of the snow covered woods. When Darius waved his hand again, various candles around the cabin lit and illuminated the once finely decorated yet dusty home. The cabin looked as if it hadn't been lived in for decades. Spiderwebs and dust blanketed the entirety of the cabin, causing the woman to let out a sound of displeasure. Darius waved his hand, restoring the cabin to its once glorious form.

"Please sit." Darius escorted the woman to the white coach and held out a hand to take her cloak, to which she refused by holding up a dainty hand of her own. Darius sat across from her on a matching white coach. He crossed his legs. "Pricilla, let us forgo anymore formalities. Neither of us acquire it."

"Yes. I suppose we do not, Ironman and his friends will be here in thirty minutes. They would be here sooner, but the Asgardian will keep him occupied with questions of the girl's whereabouts."

Darius frowned. "The girl? She has a name."

"Don't you think I know that!" The woman yelled, loosing her composure. "I try not to remember. I keep starting over, trying to forget I ever knew her." Pricilla threw off her hood to reveal shoulder length curled blonde hair. Dark circles framed her calculating brown eyes, and her red painted lips seemed to be sealed in a permanent frown.

"You should have never forced her to go." Pricilla said.

"Manipulating Darcy was the only option, she carries too much of your stubbornness!" Darius yelled, knowing that Pricilla was not upset that he sent Darcy off world, it was the fact that he manipulated her; which amused him to no end, because she had done the same.

Pricilla's eyes glowed white. "If I-."

"You don't have the power to fight me." Darius said.

"Power?" Pricilla asked in disbelief. "No one has any power. Everyone's fate is set in stone. You are an insecure fool to believe that being male in a world that caters to men gives you anymore power than you would have had, had you never left where you came from. I don't want to fight you, I know I wouldn't win. I only want one thing, and that is to fulfill a prophesy I spent my entire life knowing I'd be the catalyst of. I don't care who I have to put up with, or who I have to sacrifice. The girl would have went without manipulation."

Darius massaged at his temples, while sighing tiredly. "You choose to serve me. To be my link to the outside world while I was detained, to make me aware of my enemy's locations. You chose. Do not behave as if I am the villain here." Darius said.

Pricilla cocked her head to the side while frowning deeper as her white glowing eyes studied Darius. "Aren't you? Along with every Dresleim that has ever set foot on Earth. The men of your world introduced the mutant gene into humanity. I could have had a normal life."

Darius chuckled without mirth, while looking at Pricilla w. She had always chose to fulfill her duty regardless of who found themselves in her way. He at least admitted to loving all of his descendants. He loved Darcy, perhaps more than even his grandson, because she reminded him so much of his beloved Yvette. Pricilla refused to speak her own daughter's name, or acknowledge any feelings of love or attachment to her.

It was unfortunate that Darcy was the first of his descendants to possess the queen gene. Her life had been planned before her conception, and he would not alter her path. "Normalcy will be the death of the weak. My kind have done you and all of humanity a blessing. Count yourself honored to be called Mutant once the reaping begins." Darius said wanting Pricilla to believe the lie, he stood and walked around the coffee table to stare down at her. Pricilla's white eyes dulled back to their calculating brown. Pricilla stared at his hand, while digging into the fabric of her cloak with her nails. The disgust radiating off of her filled his senses. It was one of the emotions humans and non-humans emitted that he did not care for, it reminded him too much of Dresleim and his sex.

"We require a host." Darius said staring at Pricilla's blonde hair while bringing his offered hand back to his side.

"The Astrophysicist Jane Foster, carries the Darkness to Asgard, Alice and I will lower her to the Darkness and the rest will fall into place as it is meant to. You need to teleport to different parts of the world every fifteen minutes for two hours." Pricilla eyes glowed white.

"And what of the man of Iron?" Darius asked trailing his eyes from Pricilla's hair to her eyes.

"He, along with Captain America, Black Widow, Hawk Eye and Shield will have their own problems to deal with soon. Thor will bring Jane, once she is infected, to Asgard." Pricilla stood up looking past Darius at a wooden wall, and Darius knew that the woman was trapped in her mind for the time being, reviewing a prophesy that only seers could see. He studied her face closely. She didn't look a day over 35 and yet he knew that she had lived far more years than her appearance would suggest, such was the fate of seers. To watch people die and live a normal life span, while you yourself outlive them. He had known Pricilla's mother on his home world, she too had been a seer…she had been different from all of the women of his world…she had helped him escape death. She had known the prophecy before her daughter developed her sight.

 **Flashback**

Darius laid naked and covered in burns and dried blood, staring up at the brown cave ceiling of his abode. Light from their moons illuminated the cave revealing nothing but the lone cave occupant and a puddle of blood gathered around him. He had spoken out of turn to his queen and goddess and he would be put to death for it. The words that he had uttered to his queen repeated in his mind. "We were birthed from the same womb what makes you better than I? Perhaps you and your sex are the inferior ones! It is you not I that belongs in rags" and he had spat at his queen's feet and sealed his fate to torture and death.

Darius closed his eyes as a spike of pain shot up the shattered length of his right leg. He laid in pain for what felt like sun cycles before he felt another presence within his cave, standing above him.

"My dearest fool." Came the raspy voice of one of one-hundred of Dresleim seers. Ank was one of the weakest seers of Dresleim, she could only see fates when paired with another seer, which gained her motherly adoration from the rest of her kind, for they viewed her as infantile regardless of her physical maturation. She did not hate males, nor view them as beneath her; yet she was not punished because her compassion for those of his sex came across as mere naivety.

Darius opened his eyes to be met with the vision of Ank dressed in a sheer red robe, her pregnant belly looking as if it was moments away from bursting. Her black hair covered in blue flames tumbled down her back in long braids, and she stared down at him with one hand on her belly and tears in her red eyes. When she attempted to kneel beside him she wobbled, causing him to attempt to sit up to stabilize her.

"I am fine." Ank said, letting out a large exhale as she made it on the ground to sit beside him, in the pool of his blood.

"You have soiled your wings with my blood."

"We are Dresleim, is your blood not my own? Is your pain not my pain?" Ank asked placing a warm black hand on his cheek, and letting the red garb transform on her body to large red wings of flame.

Tears slipped from Darius's eyes, his body shocked by a touch that did not precede pain.

"I had a vision today." Ank said, moving to lay beside Darius, she wrapped her arms and wings around him, touching her forehead to his, and he felt such bliss that he sobbed.

"The grand seer, ordered us to look at the worlds carrying our exiled kind, she wanted to see their fates. I was paired with Amj, and we saw a world ruled by man, with strange beings. Some were capable of great feats and others not. The great ones it has been seen, carry part of us. Males from our home partook of the women of that strange world and produced offspring capable of great feats. Amj was not pleased with such a world, it stands against our laws and values; thus she broke from the bell before our sight was sated."

"You could have died." Darius rasped out.

"I did not. Separated from Amj. I connected to the source alone, without being paired. The source sent me back to gaze upon that world ruled by men. They produce our food in abundance, it has been their emotions that has sustained us. They have been calling out to us; which is why when those in exile seek a home they seek Earth. That is what it is called. The bell showed me a woman and you were paired with her, and I knew your fate in that moment and the fate of their world and ours. I was given a prophesy, if it is seen to fruition your sex will suffer no more."

Darius clenched his eyes closed tightly, desperately clinging to Ank's words, yet wondering at their truth.

"I do not believe you to be naive nor a fool. Why do you care for wretches?" Darius asked bitterly.

"I love."

"Love?" Darius asked confused by the unknown word.

"It is a word used by some groupings of Earthlings. It exists in many forms. Some forms are that of a pair between mother and child, the other that of a Dresleim and their queen." Ank pressed her red lips to Darius's cheek, her tears mixed with his.

"While paired I have seen various lifeforms and their fates, I have seen worlds where pain is unknown. None hurt, none suffer. A separation based on abilities or sex is unknown. If worlds such as those can exist out there, why can we not carve such a world here? I am fortunate to carry a daughter, but someday I will carry a son and he will be treated as you and all males are, and it will break me." Ank sobbed loudly. "I love my dearest fool, and to have the objects of my love broken, shall be the death of me."

Darius felt the force of Ank's emotions and believed in her sincerity. She believed him to be noble, and that thought alone swore him to her.

"What must I do to bring such a world to fruition?" Darius asked.

"Humble yourself before our queen and beg for exile, and when lead to the stones of transport you a force will grip you, let it guide you. Fate will guide you to Yvette, for when you pair with her as a woman pairs with a breeder here, it will unblock your powers and begin the prophesy. Yvette is capable of great feats."

"Must I know so little?" Darius asked.

Ank tightened her embrace around Darius. "The bell allowed me to see as little as I have shared with you. My vision began and ended with Yvette smiling at you, and you smiling at her-"

Darius frowned deeply. "How do you—"

"There was a golden light hallowing your union, and the sound of the bell tolling in your favor. It is a sign to seers that such a sight preempts greatness and the hearts desire. I know you have lost faith in my sex, but I promise you on my flame that you are the start of a new world where those like you will never—"

Darius stared at the ceiling. He had contemplated death as many times as he has exhaled breath, but he could never bring himself to become just another star in the sky. He despised the women of his world and their power, and yet he did not feel the same resentment for the woman that embraced him. He wanted to hate her, but he did not.

"What if this prophesy is for my happiness alone and our world remains unchanged?" Darius asked.

"Than I shall be happy that the bell has tolled in your favor, and you, a male of royal blood can find a world where your innate nobleness will not be punished."

Darius forced his eyes to look anywhere but directly in Ank's eyes.

"You are betraying our queen?" Darius asked.

Ank sighed, and silence settled between them for what felt like twelve paces of sand.

"I saw my mother form with the cosmos, she became the vast star between Clemidale's heart and Glatius's spear. I have always believed that once I join her, we will form the shield that protected Clemidale's heart in the tales of yore."

"So you plan to forfeit your life?" Darius asked shocked at Ank's calmness.

"Our people cannot hide what slumbers in our hearts from one another. I will save you and I will be condemned, that too is prophesy; however I shall carry and birth a son before I am to join my mother."

At that, Darius used his arms to sit up, hissing through his pain. He brazenly met Ank's eyes and gripped her upper arms tightly. Ank seemed surprised at first but smiled calmly.

"Why? What am I to you? We merely met in passing on numerous occasions as you snuck into the male quarters to heal wounds." Darius demanded.

"When my son is born and of age, he will carry this one." Ank put her hand on her stomach. "His sister, off world to join you and she will help you where I cannot. My sight will become hers, the bell has told me of this truth. She will find you. Never tell her of her birth, let her believe she is of Earth. She will serve you."

Darius eyes searched Ank's. He could not feel any deceit pouring from her. "You speak of your daughter's assistance, what of your son?"

"He will die upon reaching the stone portal on Earth, his wounds will end him."

"I can save-"

"I have seen. You cannot."

END FLASHBACK

Darius shook himself from his memory, and stared down at Pricilla who looked up at him with a deep frown. He had always wondered why she didn't resemble her mother, and thought perhaps she had immediately took on the appearance of the first human that found her, subconsciously burying the majority of her innate Dresleim traits to conform to this world. Darius returned the woman's frown, needing to keep her at a distance to keep his promise to her mother. He understood, why Ank wanted her daughter to remain ignorant of her place in their world. Seer's off world, would always be welcomed back to Dresleim, even dragged back if their connection to the bell was profound; which Pricilla's was. He would repay her someday for her servitude with the truth of her birth, and an easy display of his affection for her, birthed by knowing and adoring her mother.


	11. Chapter 11

:Present Time:

Darcy didn't know how long she had been crying, but the gentle touch of a small hand on her shoulders reminded her that she wasn't alone. That outside of her own personal hell, she had became a mother…to two kids that knew all of her secrets. She wanted to be pissed at them. To yell at them, that they didn't have a right to pry into her life just because they could.

'They're mine.' Darcy reminded herself. Beneath the anger was shame and embarrassment. She didn't know how to face them, or if she even wanted to. In a perfect world she would just keep her head down and wait for time to rewind to when she was pregnant. She wouldn't fall asleep, she would raise them, and tell them kid approved stories. 'My life isn't mine anymore' Darcy thought hiccuping. What Darius and Ambee…what they took away from me. How can I get it back?' Darcy dug her fingers into her hair, clenching her scalp as she felt a panic attack grip her. 'I need to get it back'

"Please." Darcy whispered aloud, rocking back and forth. She didn't know if she wanted to ask her children to go away or if she wanted to ask whoever was listening to give her, her life back. It was taking so much self-control to not lash out at her own kids, for something that they couldn't control. For things she couldn't teach them. "Please." Darcy repeated. She was scared, scared for her kids, and herself. It felt like her identity had been ripped away from her. Everything that was comforting and familiar was gone. She didn't know who she was any more. What if she couldn't mother. Her own mother hadn't…no she wouldn't think about that. Her mother was good to her until that Halloween.

The little hands on her shoulders vanished to be replaced by a bigger one. "Breathe. May you breathe and calm yourself my queen." Ambee said, rubbing a slow circle on Darcy's back.

"I want to go back." Darcy cried. "I want this to have all been a dream." Darcy instantly regretted her words when she felt an overwhelming sense of lost and sadness permeate her immediate space that didn't belong to her or Ambee. She had broken her children's hearts. After building them up she had broken them. Darcy looked up, and turned to stare behind Ambee, and watched as her Daughter hugged her brother and cried into his shirt. Her son did not hug his sister back, his hands clenched at his sides as his shoulders shook and he stared at the ground.

"Do not fault our queen, your mother. I warned you of the fragility of a mother's heart upon waking from a long slumber. Having missed so much of her most cherished persons lives." Ambee said somberly.

Darcy could feel her anger rising, the more Ambee tried to justify how Darcy felt to her own kids.

"T-that does n-not make it hurt any less." Darcy's daughter answered between sobs. "We have disappointed her."

Darcy's son remained silent, but she could feel what he refused to voice.

"We have disappointed her brother." Darcy's daughter said.

"Stop!" Darcy yelled, wobbling to her feet as her flames expanded to fill the entire dome. Her blue eyes shone with her tears. Noticing Ambee's hand still on her back she flinched away from her as if she had been burned, while giving the red headed woman a look of disgust. She couldn't take any of this. Her children's pain felt like knives in her chest.

"You fucking bitch, don't pretend to know how I feel. This is your fault!" Darcy grabbed a handful of Ambee's hair and pulled until the red head was meeting her eyes with a pained grimace. "When you showed them my memories did you show them how you and Darius forced me to leave my home, by dangling Natasha's life over my head? Did you let them see what I saw in her mind, what Darius did to her? Answer me!" Darcy yelled, pulling harder.

"No, my queen." Ambee gasped, as Darcy's grip tightened.

Darcy laughed a mirthless laugh. "You really are an evil, heartless, bitch." Darcy materialized her sword in her free hand, not losing sight of the fear on Ambee's face through her tear blurred vision.

"Why should I hurt this much, and you feel fucking a-ok? Why should my kids hurt this much and you and Darius feel nothing?" Darcy glanced at her children to see both of them watching the scene before them. Her daughter briefly glanced to Ambee with a look of wide-eyed fear for the woman's life on her face. Darcy's son stared at both of them stoically, as if whatever she chose to do would be justified, but she could feel that he cared and the jealousy that bloomed in her chest destroyed her ability to reason.

"I told you to leave, but you had to come back!" Darcy yelled, pulling Ambee by her hair to kneel on her knees. 'Who does this bitch think she is, to fuck with me?' Darcy wondered enraged.

The blue and white of Darcy's eyes became flames, her skin peeled away leaving blue and orange flames in the shape of a woman. Her hair darkened to blue, and the flames of her eyes cooled to black marble. Darcy pulled the flames filling the sphere into her form, as her black eyes searched Ambee's face, looking for something, anything to let her know the woman felt guilt, that she knew what she did was wrong. When she could find nothing but a mask of stoicism, she feasted on her emotions, and was with nothing but more calm.

"Feel something!" Darcy vanished her sword and punched Ambee in the center of her face, releasing the red head's hair as she staggered backwards on her knees, gripping her broken nose. Darcy vowed to beat Ambee until she felt better.

"Was I just a toy?" Darcy asked running and issuing Ambee a sound kick in her stomach, until she hunched over, throwing up a clear green liquid. "Tell me!"

Ambee wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, and clutched her bare stomach where a bruise was already starting to form. The arm she used to support her battered form gave out and Ambee collapsed to her back, to stare at the top of the sphere.

Just as Darcy was about to kick her again, she paused when Ambee raised a hand towards the ceiling. She watched as the stoic woman broke down and began crying green tears that matched the bile she continued to cough up. The green liquid pooled around her, and smeared over her naked breast.

"Despair." Darcy said aloud with wide eyes, as flashes of color filled the dome, briefly becoming a picture of a blurry face.

"I cannot stand by and watch this! Stop!" Darcy's daughter yelled, running to kneel down beside Ambee, cradling the woman's head, and grabbing her hand, bringing it to rest at her side. Darcy's daughter looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "If you wish to punish someone for our disappointing you mother, please spare our dearest Ambee."

Darcy stumbled backward, as her mouth opened and all she could say was "Oh", in shock. She didn't stop moving backward until her back hit the glass of the sphere. She couldn't look away from her daughter cradling Ambee, but she knew she needed to be anywhere but where she was.

"Mother." Darcy's son said, sensing her pain and reaching out towards her, as he closed the distance between them.

Darcy rushed away from him, looking for a door, until instinct took over and she fell through the sphere and landed in the middle of a clearing with silver grass, and bugs that resembled fireflies glowing bright blue, flying around. Looking up she saw that she couldn't see into the sphere from the outside. On the outside it was covered in moss, vines, and red dirt. It looked like an oversized unkept grave. Darcy scrambled to her feet, and looked for the other spheres she had seen, and realized that what she had seen of the outside world through the sphere had been an illusion.

Kneeling on their knees all around her were thousands of women with skin colors of every color of the rainbow. They were as naked as the day they were born. Some were bald, and others had hair so long they wrapped it around their torso making a makeshift toga. Behind the women and surrounding Darcy and the large mound were five skyscraper sized statues of women. Each statue depicted a woman with a crown of flame atop her head, and a sword in their hand. Depending on the statue, the sword was either raised high above its owners head, while their face snarled, or it was held down to the ground by a stoic faced statue.

As if they had rehearsed together, they all looked up and spoke in unison. "Mother."

Darcy was so shocked, that the despair she had been feeling that belonged to Ambee her children, and herself, went to the back of her mind. 'I didn't birth them too did I?" Darcy wondered in horror. She squeezed her thighs together in fear for the state of her vagina if she did. 'Well that feels odd.' Darcy looked down to she that her skin was gone, and she was nothing but fire.

She jumped back, and shook her arms trying to put herself out, but couldn't get the flames to go away. The women began to speak in unison again:

"Are you a queen of peace, or a queen of fire?

The time is now, while moons are waxed to test your ire.

Mother, your children's needs are dire.

We gather as far from the east, that land that never tires.

We hail from the west, where greatness we inspire.

We lead from the North that man owning empire.

We march from the south the land that feeds desire."

In the same unison that the women spoke in, they rose to their feet, and their bodies

became covered in flames matching the color of their skin. They charged at Darcy with their fist raised.

"Holy shit." Darcy swore, preparing to run, but stopping when she thinks about her son and daughter, who are still inside of the mound.

"Hey, wait!" Darcy yells holding out a hand, wondering if she could use anything that she learned as a Political science major in this situation. 'Is this a democracy, no. If it was than I wouldn't be their queen, unless I'm just a figure head and they have a Prime minister or something.' When the women refused to stop, and two of them who seem faster than the rest closed in on Darcy and tried to land punches and kicks to her face, she formed her sword in her hand to try to scare them away.

Someone hit her in her face.

"Who threw that fucking punch?" Darcy yells, as she falls against the mound containing her children.

Darcy lets her flames expand with her anger until it slowly begins to engulf the masses, causing their own flames to wither and die down and wither away.

"I'm your queen damnit! respect the crown." Darcy held up her sword.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm your queen damnit, respect the crown!" Darcy yelled, watching as the flames engulfing the warriors around her died down as hers continued to rise. 'Just what the hell did I wake up to? Unless I didn't wake up. Am I dead?' Darcy thought, checking over her shoulder to ensure the large mound of dirt was still in one piece. 'This is wonderland and I must be alice. Or maybe its Oz and I'm Dorthy…Dorothy Lewis.' Darcy found herself wondering if Darius had scrambled her brains as she turned back to face the now kneeling women, their eyes refused to meet her face, but they stared above her head at her raised arm holding her sword, causing Darcy to realize she was striking the same poise as some of the statues.

The earth beneath her feet began to shake, causing Darcy to levitate off the shaking ground to maintain her balance. A large cracking sound filled the air, and Darcy spun around to watch as the large dirt mound, flickered like hologram, changing into the clear sphere she had woke up in allowing her to she her children, before flickering back to the image of a large dirt mound. A crack travel down the middle of the mound, before it turned back into a clear sphere and shimmered out of existence.

Darcy's son stared out at the army before him with wide fearful eyes before immediately dropping to his knees, and starring at the ground. Darcy's daughter sat with Ambee's head cradled in her lap, looking up from the bleeding woman with tears in her eyes. When Darcy's daughter noticed the army, her eyes widened and immediately went to her brother, before searching and finding Darcy. She bent and whispered something to Ambee that Darcy could not hear, before gently moving the woman's head to rest on the ground, and standing up.

Darcy watched, as the girl with features similar to her father, walked with a grace Darcy didn't think she could pull-off, as she stood beside her kneeling brother, placing a hand atop his head.

"Our mother, sisters is a queen of fire!" Darcy's daughter yelled to the army of women, causing them to stand and raise their weapons. Darcy tensed thinking they were going to attack her again. She brought her arm down and held her sword in front of her with two hands.

"Bring it bitc-" Darcy trailed off, as the army began to stomp in unison.

"Our mother, our goddess has subdued your flames, by her will. As it is natural those beneath her submit in her presence."

Darcy watched as her daughter closed her eyes and took a steadying breath, before looking out at the army again calmly.

"As it is natural, males even of blood, submit in her presence!" Darcy's daughter petted her brother on his head and approached her.

"I, the daughter of our queen submits in her presence!" Darcy's daughter lowered herself to one knee and crossed her arms across her chest in a poise similar to what Ambee did on earth.

Darcy found herself shaking with rage.

"Stand up." Darcy spoke with venom in her voice. Darcy's daughter rose to her feet, meeting her mother's eyes. Darcy found herself mentally counting back from ten, to control her temper, while reminding herself that the girl in front of her, who might view Ambee as more of a mother than her, was still her daughter, and she wasn't sure what her stance was on corporal punishment, but she couldn't outright slap her. She felt kind of ashamed that she even wanted to. Lifting up a hand Darcy brought it to rest on her daughter's cold cheek and closed her eyes.

"Stand up." Darcy said again, opening her eyes to find her son still cowering on the ground, in an effort to become one with the dirt and disappear. Darcy felt her hand against her daughter's cheek began to tremble with her rage. Dropping her sword, and ignoring the suddenly hushed army, Darcy put both of her hands on her daughter's shoulder, willing her flames not to harm her.

"If I'm not Alice or Dorothy, and this is not a acid trip gone wrong, then this is real. You're my daughter?" Darcy asked, needing to know again.

"Yes, mother I-"

"Then, freaking act like it, I know I'm a deadbeat but what has your brother done to you!" Darcy yelled pulling away to float over to her son.

Darcy felt her eyes watering as her son flattened his body to the ground and turned his face to the side. She bit her lip, wanting to scream and pull him to his feet.

"Get up, what did I tell you?" Darcy waited with her fist clenched at her sides..

Darcy's son pushed himself up to rest on his legs, but kept his eyes facing the ground.

Darcy dropped down to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, causing a rush of whispers to sound behind her. "I don't know rather to hate you two for choosing her over me, or love you…just because, I'm impulsive. Which is really bad, because that's how I got in this mess, not that you two are messes. I really want to love you two. I'm just really fucking jealous and angry."

"Always."

Darcy pulled away from her son, giving him room to speak.

"Ambee has been a presence teaching us, but you have always been my mother." Darcy's son hugged her. "Ambee deserved your wrath, I know about Darius."

"How?" Darcy asked.

"What we told you was false mother. Ambee addresses me as Ambrose and my sister as Ambrosia. Ambrosia and I hesitated and lied, because we could see how distressed you were.

Ambrosia is not like everyone else that looks down on my gender, we have to play parts here mother, everyone does. Ambee taught Ambrosia how to behave to keep both of us safe when others are watching. When Ambee taught us to watch your memories. She couldn't hide what she wanted to from me, but I hid what I knew from Ambrosia, because she needed someone other than me to—"

'I really should have killed her.' Darcy sighed. She wasn't really surprised that the woman who was Darius righthand was a deceiving and lying bitch, but she couldn't finish her off, not knowing that without Ambee her kids might not have survived.

"—trust, until you awoke."

Darcy's hug tightened before relaxing. "I can never forgive Ambee, but for keeping you two safe I won't beat her into next week, again."

"I always wanted to share my father's name." Ambrose said.

"What, Loki?" Darcy asked shocked.

"Yes."

"What is the meaning of this!?" Darcy turned around to face the source of the indignant voice.

A tall elderly woman with light blue wrinkled skin and weak flickering orange flame, walked down the aisle the army created as they parted and bowed to her. The elderly woman slowly walked towards Darcy unabashedly nude, and with a posture that made Darcy subconsciously straighten her own stance. Grey eyes glared at Darcy, as she stood pulling her son to his feet with her, but keeping him behind her to shield him from the old woman's ire.

Ambrosia bowed to the old woman and addressed her as "Mother of mothers."

Squinting Darcy noticed a flickering crown of flame atop of the old woman's head.

"Our new queen, this new mother! Hugs a boy and shuns her daughter at her coronation!"

Darcy frowned. "Hey, no one is shunning anybody, she was being a dick to her brother. I love her, because she's my kid. They both are, I'm learning how to parent, so back off."

"What strange talk is this?" The elderly woman turned towards the crowd of women and then turned back towards Darcy, making Darcy feel as if she was on trial and this old lady had seen one too many "Law and Orders". "Our new queen birthed off world, disrespects our customs and laws and is ignorant of coronation rites—"

"Hold it Perry Mason, I was born off world, so how am I suppose to know what's normal here?"

"You should not have stepped from your ceremonial grave unawares. As the Mother of mother's, I am the head scholar now so I will inform you of your transgressions mother."

"Mother of mothers, mother…you people need to get a better naming system." Darcy said wondering where all of the skills she learned as a Political Science major had waltzed off to. She was pretty her International Relations professor if he was here, would be standing off to the side shaking his head at her while holding a large red marker over some hapless student's term paper.

"Men are the lowest ranking life forms on this planet, as such they are to kneel and submit in the presence of their superiors. Affection towards males is undignified, unless it is for breeding purposes. Men who do not submit are punished, banished, or disposed of." The Mother of Mothers explained.

"This sexist shit has to end."

"Sexist? What is the meaning of this word?" The old woman asked frowning.

Darcy wanted to face palm, but didn't, not wanting to give the old woman the satisfaction.

"If you couldn't tell my daughter and son are twins, they both came out of my who-ha. What makes one better than the other? What makes you better than my son? Maybe you should be in rags, or just clothes in general. I understand the whole nudist colony vibe, but come on." Darcy said, wanting to cover her son's eyes but figuring it was pointless.

The old woman faltered staring at Darcy as if seeing a ghost. She licked her aged lips as her eyes searched Darcy's face.

"Those words…however not exact are strangely reminiscent…"

"Mother." Ambrosia approached her mother with a look of worry on her face, while wrangling her hands.

Darcy tightened her grip on her son, as she felt him trying to lower himself back down to the ground.

"Hold it there house elf." Darcy whispered to her son.

The old woman cleared her throat.

"Here we follow natural law. Men are naturally inferior to our sex. They cannot bring life into the world, they cannot connect with the bell, they cannot mother. They are beneath us in natural intelligence and power. This boy recognizes this, and shows his deference through the lowering of his body in the presence of the high ranking women of our world. In this way he is virtuous, because he knows his place and adheres to it. "

Darcy found herself wanting to laugh, she wished she could take pictures and video and post everything online back on earth. Jane would get a kick out of a place like this, after all of the gender based discrimination she's faced as an astrophysicist always having to prove herself.

Darcy held out her hand and her sword of flames lifted from where she discarded it on the ground to land in her hand.

Chuckling Darcy winked at her daughter and turned behind her to give a wink to her brother.

"Well a new-" Darcy began, but was soon interrupted by the old woman.

"New? If you intend to change the natural order of things, than you wish to bring chaos to our very existence."

Darcy frowned. "What do you expect me to do, pretend like you haven't enslaved an entire gender?"

At Darcy's words the whispering of the army behind the old woman rose up again, followed by laughter.

The old woman stared at Darcy confused. "Slaves? We protect men from themselves. Given free reign they bring chaos and destruction in their wake. The bell has shown the seers other worlds where men rule-"

Various woman in the crowd yelled in outrage.

"Men in those worlds start wars, rape, and seek knowledge beyond their station not to further their species but to dominate and kill senselessly. They are slaves to their desires!" Flames began to dance around the elderly woman. "They shame women into obedience, and you a queen born off world in a world such as those the seers have seen, judge our way of life. A way of life without wars, without famine, plagues, rape, and infanticide. You have not lived a full rotation here and you preach of change. You do not know your people, yet you would order them to change! You shame us." The elderly woman turned her back to Darcy and began to walk back towards the crowd, trembling with her emotions.

Darcy wasn't really sure why, but she felt guilt. Here she was trying to change a system she knew nothing about, she only had Darius's words to form her decisions on. Along with her children's words…but they had been raised by Darius's right hand. Darcy lowered her sword and closed her eyes. Sighing, she thought about the cultural anthropology class she had to take as a graduation requirement. How good anthropologist were suppose to put their personal bias aside as much as they could to observe a culture different from their own. 'But I'm a political science major damnit!' Darcy though chewing her bottom lip. She opened her eyes and stared at her daughter who looked back at her worriedly.

"Am I wrong?" Darcy asked.

Ambrosia looked towards her brother, and then looked back at her mother. "In your memories we have viewed the world of men where you hail from mother. When I look at our home here through that lens, my brother's treatment seems unjust, yet having been raised here. I do not crave the horror of your world. Though, I have not viewed dearest Ambee's memories, when I watch her, when she believes no one to see. I see the scars that world has caused. As much as she and you favor that existence, such a place is beyond my forgiveness." "The fact that my brother breaks tradition at your request risking his virtue and life, is a testament of his love to you as our queen and mother. Yet, you never asked if he were happy here, you merely assumed he was otherwise."

"They hate you for being what you are." Darcy argued weakly."

Ambrosia's eyes became downcast. "Frost Giants have a patriarchal society. My fellow Dresleims hate what I represent, but because of my sex here I am an equal… the more certain my fellows become of my nature the easier it becomes for me."

At Ambrosia's words the old woman stopped and turned around.

"Spoken like a Dresleim, had you been born crowned I would have gladly called you my queen daughter."

Ambrosia blushed and turned to face the elderly woman. "I am honored Mother of Mothers; however I believe that our current queen, once her coronation is complete and she understands our ways, will be honored amongst all of the nations. This, even the seers will see. Given, that you Mother of Mothers are the wisest amongst all of us, having been queen once yourself. Please show patience and guide our off world born queen."

The elderly woman huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, before kneeling. "May the bell toll in our queen's favor.

Ambrosia turned towards Darcy and knelt with her arms crossed in front of her chest. The army followed her example and knelt as well. Ambrosia smiled at her mother, and mouthed 'I will assist you through coronation.'

Darcy stared at her daughter shocked, wondering where the shy timid girl she had met upon waking had went. Her daughter was as smooth of a talker as her father. Darcy didn't know rather to be concerned or proud.

"May the bell toll in our Queen's favor." Everyone shouted.

Darcy's son lowered himself back down to the ground, and Darcy felt has if a heavy weight had been placed on her shoulders.


End file.
